BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) IS MAN ON A MISSION FOR VALENCIA AFTER POSITIVE FGSPORT TESTS Valencia (Spain), Thursday 20 April: After dominating the recent FGSport official tests at Valencia and Misano Adriatico, championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) will return to the Ricardo Tormo circuit this weekend as a man on a mission. The 37-year-old Australian unofficially broke both long-standing lap records at the Spanish and the Italian tracks and his aim is now to increase his slender one-point lead over James Toseland (Honda) at the top of the table. “I’ve been saying for some time now that ever since I hopped on the bike, it’s been going really good” declared Troy. “The only thing that seems a bit strange though is that at every test we’ve ended up fastest and everything looks so good, but when it comes down to racing we’ve only had one win, although we’ve always been up at the front. Here we’re quietly confident of doing well but maybe we expected a little bit more at this point of the season. But after the last two tests we’re in a good situation and looking forward to this weekend at Valencia. I’ve done plenty of laps round here in Superbike and MotoGP and know the circuit so well so if we look at everything on paper, it should all go well but you never know with racing!”. Lorenzo Lanzi is still suffering from an incident in training shortly before the recent test at Misano, when he tore a muscle in his ribs. “I feel OK, the problem is when I get on the bike” declared Lorenzo. “I always try and train as much as possible, sometimes these things happen in training. However the last two tests went really well, we are close to the frontrunners, so tomorrow we’ll try and start off on the right foot and do a good job in view of the race. For me Valencia is OK as a track, maybe the first part of the circuit is where I have a bit of difficulty. Both Troy and I are counting on doing a good race here, but as we saw in the tests the Suzukis and the Yamahas are both very competitive”. DUCATI XEROX 2-SEATER: The first European round of the season will also mark the first appearance of the Ducati Xerox 2-Seater, in collaboration with the team’s title sponsor, Xerox. The bike is an exact replica of the 999F06 used by Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi, and it will be present at every round of the season to provide a sensational experience for a selected group of clients, sponsors, media and VIPs. The rides will be provided by expert Italian racer Dario Marchetti, chief instructor at Ducati’s DRE (Ducati Riding Experience) riding school and the first pillion passenger on the two-seater at Valencia will be the SBK producer for Spain’s World Superbike host broadcaster Telecinco. ‘MASCALZONE LATINO’ GREETS WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONS. The Spanish Round of the Superbike World Championship taking place this weekend at Valencia will have an enchanting prologue with a press conference organized by FGSport together with the ‘Mascalzone Latino’ America’s Cup yachting team. The conference will take place at the America’s Cup Port on Thursday afternoon. FGSport, the Mascalzone Latino team and the Valencia circuit management, together with top SBK riders such as Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser, Alex Barros, James Toseland, Steve Martin and Andrew Pitt, plus Spanish heroes Ruben Xaus and Fonsi Nieto, will all attend the event. At the end of the press conference the Superbike riders will transfer from the vessel hosting the conference to Mascalzone Latino Ita 77 and will have an opportunity to meet the crew. CIRCUIT HISTORY. Since its opening by King Juan Carlos I in September 1999 the Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo Circuit has become a firm fixture in the world of motorsport. The track is located in the Spanish town of Cheste, on the outskirts of Valencia, and it hosted its first SBK round in 2000. The designers based the 4km course on American circuits, enabling spectators to view the entire track. It has a maximum capacity of 110,000 spectators and has excellent transport links, being just a few hundred meters away from the Valencia-Madrid A3 motorway and a ten-minute drive from the airport. THE CIRCUIT. Name: Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo Circuit. Length: 4.005 km. Pole Position: right. Corners Left/Right: 8/5. Longest straight: 876 metres. CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 2 rounds of 13): (Riders) 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 75; 2. Toseland (Honda) 74; 3. Corser (Suzuki) 63; 4. Barros (Honda) 55; 5. Pitt (Yamaha) 45; 6. Haga (Yamaha) 42 “¦. 11. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 15. (Manufacturers) 1. Honda 78; 2. Ducati 76; 3. Suzuki 73; 4. Yamaha 58; 5. Kawasaki 22; 6. Petronas 3. STATISTICS: Best lap: Bostrom (Ducati), 1m34.649s (2002). Lap record: Hodgson (Ducati), 1m35.007s (2003). Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m34.814s (2002). Race distance: 2 x 23 laps/92.115 km. 2005 RESULTS: Race 1 1. Corser (Suzuki); 2.Vermeulen (Honda); 3. Kagayama (Suzuki). Race 2 1. Corser; 2. Vermeulen; 3. Walker (Kawasaki).