A cooler, overcast day characterised day two of testing at the Portimao circuit as Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio and their technicians continued work where they had left off yesterday.
Over the two days Noriyuki has tested the new clutch and is happy with the initial results, citing it as a good starting point for 2010. He also used the new fork but declared at the end of testing that he prefers his usual one. Michel meanwhile continued to ride with the new fork, testing too the new shock provided by Ohlins and he was very comfortable, able to record some ery fast lap times.
Average lap times were very similar to yesterday with Michel able to improve on his best time by a few tenths of a second, once again one of the fastest riders on track during the morning session, along with Noriyuki and Brits Jonathan Rea (Honda), Leon Haslam on board the Suzuki and Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow.
Both Ducati Xerox riders finished up at lunchtime, with the testing having been declared a success.
Noriyuki Haga Speaks…
“Today we tried the new front fork and it felt quite similar to the one I use already but overall I prefer the one I have used up until now, the new one didn’t give me anything extra. I worked with the new clutch which is a bit of a different concept but it gave me a good feeling and it definitely has potential. I’m happy with how it’s gone here but to be honest I’m ready to go home as it’s been a long week.”
Michel Fabrizio Speaks…
“I continued to test the fork that we used yesterday and I also tried the new shock. With the bike in its 2009 configuration but with the new shock mounted I was immediately half a second faster so it seems to be a big improvement. I’m very happy with the times as me and Jonathan were again the fastest out there and I’d say the testing has finished on a very positive note.”
TIMES (UNOFFICIAL): Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m41.9s; Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m43.2s
