QATAR TEST DAY ONE While one significant part of the Superbike World Championship® grid was sunning itself at high speed in Valencia, another faction was lapping Qatar in testing mode. Team Yamaha Motor Italia and the DFX Honda squad were making the most of the desert heat, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) fastest on day one of three, on a 2’02.00. His team-mate Andrew Pitt, the 2001 SS™champion, was just 0.2 seconds behind. New SBK™inductee, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda) scored a 2’03.00, while the most experienced SBK™ rider of all, Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda) scored 2’03.10. On the second day times tumbled, as the Yamaha squad made advances with their new electronics systems, even if none of the riders present had any 2006 Pirelli development tyres available to them to test. Haga was fastest on a 2’01.6, with Pitt almost keeping pace on a 2’01.7. Chili’s experience showed with his best of 2’01.8 while Fabrizio posted a 2.02 flat. The DFX Honda pairing worked through new front forks and three designs of rear swingarm. 1. Haga Yamaha 2’01″6 2. Pitt Yamaha 2’01″7 3. Chili Honda 2’01″8 4. Fabrizio Honda 2’02″0