2013 World Superbike Championship
By Sam Sims
For 2013 World Superbike, the newly-formed Alstare Ducati Team will field the 1199 Panigale.
The switch from the 1198 to the 1199 arrives with many obstacles for the Alstare team and its riders Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, and testing is key. But the team didn’t have much luck during a three-day testing session at Jerez Saturday through Monday.
Due to inclement weather at the Spanish circuit, the World SBK Champion Checa and Badovini only got three hours of track time. But the team, which is under the direction of Team Manager Francis Batta and Ducati SBK Project Manager Ernesto Marinelli, reports that some useful data was collected.
Alstare Ducati says: “It was of course not possible to respect the original planned program of work but the limited track time did allow the riders to build their confidence with the bike and provide some good feedback which will prove to be an extremely important starting point when it comes to the next tests in Australia.
“The 1199 Panigale R bikes will now go back to Alstare’s racing department where work will continue in coming weeks.”
Alstare Ducati will return to the track on Feb. 14-15 for additional private testing at Phillip Island in Australia, ahead of the official tests at the same circuit Feb. 18-19.
