Troy Bayliss, 2001 WSBK champion, and Ruben Xaus completed 22 and 24 laps respectively on their Ducati 998 Factory bikes, fitted with the ’02 engine, but a cold and damp track together with intermittent rain prevented them from improving on yesterday’s lap times.

Troy Bayliss, who slashed half-a-second off the lap record yesterday with a time of 1’35.61, declared: “Today was one of those days when you can’t really do much, but all things considered, we’re making good progress. I’m happy with the way the tests are going so far and I’m also pleased about the condition of my shoulder, which is healing up nicely. Hopefully we should be able to do some more laps tomorrow if the weather is good”.

Ruben Xaus, who set a time of 1’36.78 today, commented: “I didn’t feel right today because of the weather and the track was also a bit slippery. But things are going well because I know that if the weather is good then I can improve my time. The Valencia track is not one of my favorites, because I’ve only done one test here before, but I feel good because on both days I’ve managed to improve the time I set during the race here in March”.

UNOFFICIAL TIMES
Bayliss - 1m35.61 (Tuesday), 1m37.34 (Wednesday)
Xaus - 1m36.05 (Tuesday), 1m36.78 (Wednesday)