Ducati Sporting Club UK > Sport > Race > Pre-season testing

[Felix]

As they say testing times are pretty much meaningless, but reading through the various reports, some interesting results give rise to further speculation.

Expectedly, Rossi tops the time tables at Quatar, but Checa less than half a second behind on Dunlops is certainly a surprise. It certainly puts the pressure on his team mate Ellison who was a further 2 seconds back! And, Checa missed the last day of testing due to a crash. Certainly, Dunlop must be happy as Checa will likely be better at helping to develop tyres than Ellison. It certainly shows that Checa deserves his spot on the grid even though he is part of the "old guard".

I haven't seen the latest testing times from KR, but I don't imagine he is that heart broken to have lost his Suzuki ride. Hopper and Vermeulen were not able to get within a second of the leading Yamaha's, although Vermeulen has impressed by being on equal terms with his team mate. Suzuki seem to still be missing that last 0.25% to get to the very front. And I am sure the Yamaha's will improve further.

On the WSBK front, Bayliss has certainly served notice that he intends to put up a strong fight for the title. For the first time, Pirelli has bettered a lap record from the pre-control tyre era. Even though, over a second back, it was good to see Toseland being second fastest and I am sure he is not unhappy to be faster than Ducati's new golden boy Lanzi.

Further proof that Pirelli's 2006 tyres have taken a big step forward is the fact that Haslam (on purportedly the same bike but on Dunlop tyres) was 2 tenths back from Bayliss. Obviously, Troy Corser wasn't there for the Valencia tests, but "the battle of Troy" seems like it's on the cards for 2006. When it comes to racing for the win, my money would be on Bayliss. Or, might there be the Trojan horse?

Just over a week now before the first race results will be in. It will probably be pre-emptied by the Olympic Games, though.