Mugello test for Ducati GP team

Ducati is continuing its policy of getting closer to the public after opening the gates to its latest private test at the Mugello circuit in Italy this week.

More than 500 fans watched Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss lap the circuit with official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi, to get the bikes set up for round 5 of the championship on June 8.

The MotoGP riders also shared the track with Ducati’s WSB effort, which was at the track with test rider Lorenzo Lanzi trying new parts for the 999 (see the link on the right).

Capirossi, Baylis, and Guareschi were all on the team’s development bikes, with the ones used two weeks ago in Japan sent directly to the next round in South Africa. They spent the time testing suspension settings and race setup. Michelin engineers were also on hand to help the riders test a number of 2003 tyres.

Capirossi and Bayliss lapped the circuit with almost identical times. Bayliss’ best time was only 0.1 seconds behind Capirossi who finished with a best time of 1:52.7, just 0.1 seconds outside Tohru Ukawa’s 2002 lap record.

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