Troy Bayliss kicked off the World Superbike mid-season test at Vallelunga by easing to the fastest time of the day around the Italian circuit.

Intended to give teams and riders the chance to work on their set-up ahead of a busy second-half of the season, a total of 18 riders were present, with only Suzuki and Kawasaki missing from the works entry list.

It was championship leader Bayliss though that led a Ducati orientated top ten, the Australian's lap of 1min 36.595secs a clear half second up on his nearest rival.

That, however, came in the shape of the day's biggest surprise, Niccolò Canepa, who marked his first outing on a Superbike machine by popping up to second place in the final seconds of the afternoon session aboard the Xerox Ducati.

Preparing for his wildcard rides at Brno, Vallelunga and Magny-Cours, Canepa showed exactly why he is being touted as Bayliss' replacement by going eighth best in the morning before lowering his lap time by a second and a half later in the day.

That was enough to push Noriyuki Haga down to third. The Japanese rider trailed Bayliss all day before being usurped by Canepa, but managed to hold onto the third best lap as Yamaha broke the Ducati deadlock.

Indeed, Ducati filled out six of the top ten positions, even if their cause was undoubtedly aided by the missing Suzuki and Kawasaki teams.

Nonetheless, with Michel Fabrizio fourth, Jakub Smrz sixth, Ruben Xaus ninth and Max Biaggi tenth, the Italian team looks well placed to perform well on home soil when the championship reaches Vallelunga in September.

Troy Corser shrugged off the speculation regarding his future to go fifth best, while Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari hauled Ten Kate Honda into the top ten in seventh and eighth respectively.

Elsewhere, Shuhei Aoyama showed off his improved form on the Alto Evolution Honda with the 11th fastest time, ahead of Shinichi Nakatomi and Roberto Rolfo.

Several riders experienced offs as they pushed to the limit, including Lorenzo Lanzi, Checa, Canepa, Jason Pridmore, Smrz and Aoyama, Of these, only Lanzi was hurt, the Italian banging his right knee.