Bayliss concludes test on a high

From Marlboro Ducati

The test session that saw Troy Bayliss ride the Desmosedici GP9 together with official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi concluded Thursday 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 he declared he was satisfied with his pace after having had only three days to ride. A 1:51.2, 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 1:51.4 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 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."