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Kyalami (South Africa) - Private Testing 26/27 January 2001
The factory Ducati Superbike team made its first appearance of the year today at Kyalami, South Africa. The private session revolved around Michelin tyre testing for the Ducati 996R Factory bikes, which were ridden by Troy Bayliss and Ruben Xaus. Ben Bostrom will be on track next Monday.
A two-day private session in collaboration with Michelin got underway today, in view of next week\'s official SBK International winter tests. Bayliss and Xaus completed an intense testing programme with the tyres that the French manufacturer had brought to South Africa.
Weather conditions, similar to the European summer, allowed data to be gathered that will be useful for the start of the championship and the WSBK round to be held here in April. Tarmac temperature has been around 53° in the past few days while maximum ground temperature today was 40°.
TEMPERATURE: AM air 24°/ground 35° - PM 27°/40° WEATHER: clear skies.
\"My first impressions of this track were very positive\", declared Troy Bayliss, who was seeing Kyalami for the first time. \"Today was mainly devoted to obtaining the right set-up on the bike and in my 20 laps I was able to try out several different types of Michelin tyres. Tomorrow I will be working hard so that we can arrive in the best possible condition for next week\'s official tests, which begin on Monday. The track has a lot of bumps and for this reason the first phase of the test today was dedicated to obtaining the right set-up on the bike\".
Ruben Xaus got back onto a factory Ducati after missing two tests in Spain at the end of the 2000 season. The Spanish rider has completely recovered from his off-road bike crash and he began today\'s tests in a very determined mood.
\"I tried not to push too hard because I haven\'t ridden a factory bike for some time and I want to improve gradually\", declared Xaus. \"My feeling with the track is good, it\'s the second time I\'ve been here after the Supersport race in 1999 when I started from pole. My arm feels OK and is not giving me any problems, and now I just have to regain my confidence. Today\'s test session was chiefly devoted to setting up the Ducati 996R Factory and the tests will continue tomorrow\".
The other bikes on track today included the factory Hondas, which have been testing here since Wednesday.
UNOFFICIAL TIMES: Troy Bayliss (Ducati Corse) 1\'45\"83 - Ruben Xaus (Ducati Corse) 1\'44\"95.
Edwards (Honda) 1\'43.27 - Okada (Honda) 1\'43\"90 - Vermeulen (Honda Supersport) 1\'47\"70 - Guareschi (Ducati Dienza Supersport) 1\'47\"7 - Thomas (Ducati Dienza Supersport) 1\'47.9.
