Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Anthony Gobert recently completed a two-day test on Ducati Austin Racing’s 2002 Ducati 998RS machines at the 1.7-mile Motorsports Ranch road course in Cresson, Texas, 14 miles outside of Fort Worth.

“Awesome, actually!” said Gobert, when asked how the test went. “It’s quite a good facility. It’s a very safe track, no barriers, nothing to hit forever, really. The track itself is a little bit bumpy on some of the exits of corners, which takes a little bit of the fun away from it, but apart from that, I had a great time.

“I sort of got used to the Ducati a bit more over the two days. To be honest, I didn’t get to do as much riding as I would’ve liked to over the couple of days. The bikes were getting a little long in the tooth, and we seemed to have a couple of little problems with the bikes here and there. That kind of stopped me from doing as many laps as what I would have to have done. But all-in-all, it was a successful test.

“I’m really enjoying working with Vic (Fasola, Gobert’s new Crew Chief). I’ve always had a lot of respect for him from seeing how good Aaron Yates’ bikes worked. I was looking forward to working with him. We kind of went over a lot of things on the bike and tried a lot of different stuff, basically kind of feeling each other out. It’s pretty cool because Vic and I always seemed to end up at the airport together on the same flight back to Ontario (International Airport, in California). So I’ve had a little bit of time to talk to him and gel with him before. Everything’s working awesome!” Gobert also confirmed that former Vance & Hines Ducati crew member Owen Coles has also joined the Ducati Austin Racing squad.

“The new bikes just got sent from Italy a couple of days ago. I’m really, really excited about that. I can’t wait to ride the new bikes,” continued Gobert. “Hopefully, they get through customs and all that with no problems. Fingers crossed, hopefully they’ll be here for the (Daytona Dunlop tire) test.

“I’m not sure what level of equipment we’re going to receive, but I hear what we’re going to get is pretty good. I think the Ducati is the Ferrari of the bike world. I’m just so excited to be back on a Ducati.”

When asked if his team had any more tests planned prior to heading to the Daytona tire tests, Gobert said, “Yeah, we’re probably going to go back to Texas. We were going to go test in Florida, but it was quite successful testing in Texas. It was pretty cold in the mornings; we couldn’t really get anything done until 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning. But we’ll probably go back there. At least that way I can back-to-back the bikes, and it’s close for the guys and everything. Yeah, we’ll go there for a couple of days for a bit of a shakedown test before Daytona and hopefully come out swinging for the tire test.

“My brothers, Alex and Aaron, just got back over here. So it’s awesome to have them back. Pro Circuit is one of my sponsors, and they built up a 450 Honda (motocrosser) for me. I’ve been having a lot of fun on that, and Alex just got a new 450 Honda as well. We’ve been having a good time riding out at Elsinore and stuff. I really enjoy riding with my brothers. So we’re having a good time at the moment.”