Factory riders Ben Bostrom and Troy Bayliss will be tackling the intense programme of tests without Ruben Xaus, who is still recovering after his recent crash.

The two-day session will see the team and riders try out new tyres for next season's WSBK championship. Warm sunny weather and mild temperatures helped the team complete most of the work today.

In the middle of the afternoon session Ben Bostrom (Ducati-Dunlop) equalled his best time set during November's tests in qualifying trim:  1m35.90s, confirming the excellent feeling the Californian has reached with the Factory 2001 he was riding for the second time. Today's time set by Bostrom is just a shade slower than the excellent 1m35.69s set yesterday by Neil Hodgson (Ducati GSE), who has now returned to Britain.

It was also an intense day's work for Troy Bayliss (Ducati-Michelin), who tried out a number of different solutions, setting a best time of 1m36.18s which is a good sign for tomorrow's final day when the riders will go for quick laps.

Ducati Corse's third factory rider Ruben Xaus was with the team here at Valencia but did not ride as a precautionary measure as the Spaniard is still recovering from his recent crash on an off-road bike.

"We did some good work today", said a satisfied Ben Bostrom. "It's a pity about the last two hours of the day, when you've got the sun right in your eyes every time the bike goes in a westerly direction. You are almost totally blind and it's difficult to push hard. I'm trying to find the best possible tyres and then I'll be able to set the bike up perfectly. Tomorrow I'll be trying to improve my time."

"We did a lot of work today and found some good solutions", commented Troy Bayliss. "I tested several different compounds and got some good data. I had a harmless slide at the end of the session but didn't lose my concentration much. I lost grip at the rear but managed to keep control of the bike and take it into the gravel trap where I put it down on the ground at low speed. There was no damage and tomorrow we'll be continuing with the programme."