TROY BAYLISS BEGINS GP9 TESTING!

[Lucazuma]

TROY BAYLISS BEGINS GP9 TESTING ALONGSIDE VITTORIANO GUARESCHI AT MUGELLO


Troy Bayliss completed his first day of testing on board the Desmosedici GP9 at Mugello today alongside regular factory test rider Vittoriano Guareschi. It was a first outing for the Australian on a MotoGP bike since the final round of 2006, when he followed up his second World Superbike title by competing in the final Grand Prix of the season at Valencia, scoring a sensational one-two for Ducati with victory ahead of his team-mate Loris Capirossi.
Today was also Bayliss' first taste of an 800cc MotoGP machine and his first track action of any sort since ending the 2008 WSBK title-winning season, and his legendary racing career, with a double race victory at Portimao.

"This is literally the first time I've ridden a motorcycle since we unveiled the 1198 after the end of last season at Portimao", said the Australia rider. "It was nice to shake off a bit of rust and with Mugello being such a physical circuit it was a good workout! The last time I rode a GP machine was at Valencia, which was the 990cc, but the 800cc isn't exactly lacking power and I just spent today getting a feel for it. I can't wait to get back out there tomorrow and on Thursday and hopefully by the end of the session I'll be able to give some useful feedback to Filippo (Preziosi)”.

[Lucazuma]

TESTING CONCLUDES POSITIVELY FOR TROY BAYLISS AND VITTORIANO GUARESCHI AT THE MUGELLO TRACK


Mugello Circuit, Italy - The test session that saw Troy Bayliss ride the Desmosedici GP9 together with official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi has today concluded at the Italian track of Mugello. Bayliss enjoyed his time on track and has got back into the riding, six months after his retirement from Superbike racing and having not ridden a bike since then.
On leaving the Tuscan track this afternoon he declared he was satisfied with his pace after having had only three days to ride. 1m51.2, the best time registered by the Australian this week, is a very respectable time, also considering the fact that the MotoGP 800cc machine was totally new to him. Official GP test rider Vittoriano Guareschi also recorded a similar fastest time of 1m51.4 during the three useful track days.

“I’ve had three good days during which I’ve felt like a rider again", said a smiling Bayliss. "It didn’t take long to get back into it but, before anyone gets any ideas, I will also say that I’m happy to be heading back to the airport and towards Australia and home this evening: I have no intention of returning to racing! Having said that, I have had fun and I hope at the same time that I’ve been of use to Filippo (Preziosi). We worked each day on the bike and each day I was able to push harder, until I started to record some respectable times. Now I’ll stay home for a while but later in June or July I’ll be back in Europe for a few weeks. I will probably test the bike again during that time, I don’t know exactly when, but I am very happy to play a part in this project!”

“Working with Troy has been useful because he has a very different riding style to Vittoriano” commented Filippo Preziosi, "and so it’s been interesting and beneficial to hear his impressions of the GP9 also. We worked on chassis set-ups that are pretty different from those which we usually use and the results were promising although we need to look at this further. Congratulations to Vittoriano who is in great shape right now! After his excellent results in the Jerez Time Attack, he has also recorded his best ever time at Mugello this week with a 1m51.4s. We are proud to have such a diligent and fast test rider and that we can count on Troy’s great experience to continue to improve our bike”.