2001 CHAMPION SETS EARLY PACE AT MISANO TEST Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) came close to breaking his own outright SBK Misano circuit record on the first of two days of Superbike testing at the 4.060km circuit on the Adriatic coast, as he proved to be the only rider under the 1’34 barrier all day. His best first day lap of 1’33.814 beat the next fastest SBK regular by fully 0.7 of a second. That rider proved to be 1996 and 2005 World Champion Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki), putting in a late fast lap as the first light spots of rain started to fall, albeit temporarily, and to no great detrimental effect.

NIETO ON FORM ON DAY ONE Spanish rider Fonsi Nieto and his PSG-1 Kawasaki were more than welcome additions to the upper echelons of the first day’s rankings, in an eventual third place on the stopwatches. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) gave the locals something to cheer about, finishing fourth fastest on his factory Duke. The top five was rounded out by Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia), trying out the latest engine-mapping developments on his YZF-R1. The CBR1000RR of SBK rookie Michel Fabrizio made it five different machines in the top six positions, at a circuit he knows well. The top Petronas FP-1 triple belonged to Steve Martin, one place outside the top ten, and a second faster on race tyres than last year’s similar performances.

BIG FIELD AT MISANO TESTS Twenty-six riders tested at Misano, with the only big names missing those of Winston Ten Kate Honda’s James Toseland and Karl Muggeridge. Muggeridge will be forced to miss the Valencia SBK round on April 23, thanks to compression injuries to two of his vertebra. Experienced Italian rider, Giovanni Bussei, will replace Muggeridge for that race but the Aussie is expected to return at Monza, for round four of the 2006 series.
Another Honda rider, Pierfrancesco Chili, had the extreme misfortune to suffer a highside crash in the morning Superbike session, breaking his pelvis and two ribs on the exit of the Variante Arena chicane. The 41-year-old rider is expected to take some considerable time to recover from his injuries, and is currently in Riccione Hospital.

SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) proved to be the quickest rider in the middleweight class on day one, with a 1’36.927 lap. His early pace proved to be less than a tenth slower than the best ever, and was almost matched by his team-mate, Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany). Riding a Ducati SC Caracchi, in Kopron Edo Racing colours, Gianluca Nannelli only needed the afternoon session to post the third fastest time, a 1’37.483, only just ahead of Gianluca Vizziello’s Team Italia Yamaha. Josh Brookes continued his learning year in the Ducati SC Caracchi squad 17th fastest, having to sit out the afternoon session due to technical issues.
Current championship leader Sebastien Charpentier and his Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu did not test at Misano.