“In the first race I was 40 seconds faster than last year, but for me the result was worse because I finished more places down on Colin. I’m sure I can do a lot better after the break, but I need to work on grip because I feel that with a few changes I can get closer to the front”, said Troy.

In the second race, Troy stayed with the leading group right from the start and just finished off the podium behind Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati). “That race was much better after we put a softer spring on the rear” he added. “I was still disappointed to finish behind Colin, but I tried as hard as I could and that was the best I could do today. Now we go to Monza, where we always go well, but Colin is fast there as well, so it’s going to be a tough one”.

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) crashed out on lap 18 of the first race after moving past his team-mate Bayliss into fifth place. In the crash the Spanish rider ground away the skin from two fingers of his left hand, but was given the OK to ride in race 2, in which he finished ninth.

“I was doing good lap times and had passed Troy for fifth, but then I had a problem with the gear shifter and lost some time. Troy repassed me and I decided to settle for the points for sixth. I did two laps on my own, but then slid the rear onto the white paint in the left-right before the chicane and the bike went away from under me. In the second race my visor misted up and I couldn’t see a thing, but I think after my crash in race 1, ninth place was a good result!”.

Disappointment all round for Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M), who was unable to finish any higher than seventh in today’s two races, both times behind Yanagawa (Kawasaki). “It’s been a disappointing weekend. In race 1, I almost took out Troy and Neil as we went into the chicane and lost a lot of time from the leading group. After that I was stuck behind Akira and it was almost impossible to get past him.”

“I was so excited about the start of race 2 after changing to a different rim size but found I was struggling with lack of grip almost the whole way” he added. “Every lap I would come onto the back straight or the front straight and I’d lose 3 or 4/10ths at every exit. I only managed to keep with the other guys because I was braking real deep but then they would all squirt away from me on the straights.”