[kropotkin thinks...] - 2009 World Superbikes Final Test - Day 2 - Ducatis Dominate P

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The final test before the World Superbikes season commences wrapped up at Phillip Island today, and it was the turn of the Ducatis to take a step forward. After losing their near iconic leader Troy Bayliss to retirement last year, Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga stepped in to show that they are ready to defend Bayliss' crown in his absence. Fabrizio ended the day fastest, his 1'32.19 the fastest lap of all of the tests done here over the past couple of weeks, and well under Bayliss' winning lap time from last year's race. Team mate Haga was not far behind, just fractionally ahead of new boy Ben Spies. The American took a second off his time from yesterday, on only the second day of riding at the track.

Yesterday's fastest man Max Neukirchner could not improve his time, and dropped to 4th on the timesheet. The day also saw more crashes, with both Britons Johnny Rea and Tom Sykes hitting the dirt, both fortunately uninjured. Yesterday's victim Carlos Checa chose to sit out today, in order to recover for the race here due to start next weekend. But the big victim on Saturday was BMW's Troy Corser. The Australian hit a seagull, not an unusual occurrence at the racetrack at the edge of the sea, but the force was such that he was advised by medical staff not to take any further part in the session. Up until that point, Corser had been making good progress on the BMW, closing the gap on the front runners. In the end, he finished the day with the 6th fastest time.

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