Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) fractured his collarbone this afternoon after high-siding while attempting to pass French rider Regis Laconi. Bayliss was taken to hospital in Melbourne for further assessment. New signing Michel Fabrizio continued to show great progress, concluding the final session with the third fastest time of 1m32.3s, just one tenth off the pace of his team-mate.
Troy Bayliss 1m32.2s"Basically I went to pass Regis Laconi around Lukey Heights but when I realised I couldn't make it, I had to brake hard and high-sided coming in to the MG hairpin. I have fractured the collarbone close to the sternum and have also chipped the end of the sternum. I am not in too much pain and for now it doesn't seem as bad as the last break I had to my collarbone. I plan to come straight back to Italy to get further tests and the treatment that I need in order to be back on the bike as soon as possible. Up until my fall we were making great progress, testing a lot of tyres with Pirelli. We made a long-run and I was feeling good about how everything was going. This isn't an ideal outcome of course but I'm happy with the progress we made this week and now just have to concentrate on getting better as quickly as possible."
Michel Fabrizio 1m32.3s"Overall, I'm happy with this week's test results. I had a fall on Tuesday but I'm fine now, although I was pretty tired after we finished the long-runs. Basically everything has gone well, my times have not been bad and I was especially happy with the second fastest time that I set this morning. We have really clocked up a lot of miles on the track this week! We are still working towards the right set-up and although there's still work to be done, we're definitely on the right track. There are still two tests to come of course so let's say that we, and me especially, will continue to improve over the next few weeks."
Davide Tardozzi, Ducati Corse Superbike Project Leader:"We would also like to welcome Heather Watson to Team Ducati Xerox. Heather will undertake the role of press officer."
TIMES: 1, Kagayama (Suzuki) 1m32.1s
2, Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.2s
3, Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.3s
4, Xaus (Ducati) 1m32.3s
5, Nieto (Suzuki) 1m32.3s
6, Haga (Yamaha) 1m32.4s
7, Corser(Yamaha)1m32.7s
8, Biaggi(Ducati)1m32.8s
9, Laconi (Kawasaki) 1m33.0s
10, Tamada (Kawasaki)1m34.6s
11, Neukirchner (Kawasaki) 1m35.5s
