From a press release issued by SBK International:

Misano’s Test Scuderia NCR

TEST DAY AT MISANO FOR SCUDERIA NCR
(Misano 2002, November 20)

Testing day at Misano for Scuderia NCR, looking at the final agreements with the riders for 2003 season. Taking advantage of a stop in the atrocious weather conditions of the last days Regis Laconi and Simone Sanna rode for their first time the 998RS NCR Ducatis Nortel Networks.

The French rider never rode before a Ducati, but he found immediately a good feeling with a total of 53 laps and a fastest lap of 1:37.7 with the bike in race set up. At the end of the day Laconi was satisfied: “I haven’t had any problem to adapt myself to the Ducati and, despite the track was very humid in several points which never dried during the day I rode fast, with lap times like June’s race, with very different temperature. After the first set up adjustment I found immediately the right feeling, because the bike gives you confidence and also the pit crew looks like they have a good structure.”

Absolute debut on a four stroke bike for Simone Sanna (24). The rider from Borgo San Lorenzo, very close to the Mugello Circuit, always rode in his career the small 125 two stroke, on which he won three rounds in GP World Championship. After the obvious hesitancy in the first laps, he got to gain a good feeling with such a different machine, riding faster and faster to a better laptime of 1:38.4 in a 40 laps test.

“I’m really satisfied after this day,” said Sanna at the end. “I started with the aim to understand if I could agree a 4 stroke bike and I leave Misano really happy. During the first laps I feel the bike enormous and heavy, I hadn’t any idea how to use the gearbox ratios, in the middle of corners I was feeling myself very slow looking a 125 riding style. Then I rode for a couple of laps close to Laconi and I understood several of the riding differences between the two bikes: So I started to be at my ease lap by lap. Today the weather conditions weren’t ideal, the track was cold and in several points not dry, so for sure I believe to have good possibility to do better. That doesn’t mean that I could be immediately competitive, I have to ride for miles and miles and to stay a lot on the bike, but I’m confident that I started in the correct way.”

At the end of the day Alex Gramigni, too, rode for some lap test, but at that time the conditions was impossible, with cold and a wet wind and no visibility. So it would be stupid to speak about laptimes; however the 1992 World Champion of 125 class showed to be still a very fast rider, scoring a laptime of 1:39.9 just after 5 laps.

Satisfied at the end of the day Stefano Caracchi, too: “That’s been a very satisfying test for both the riders, with a track in bad conditions, the bike no more used after Imola and tyres very close to the standard product. We was looking just to be confirmed of our opinions, and we have had the confirmation, with very good results, despite the bad conditons, both for the expert Laconi as well for Sanna, at his first experience on a Superbike so different from a 125GP. Also Gramigni shows that he’s not a rider good for a old folks’ home, despite the stop in the last season. In the next day we’ll close the final 2003 Team structure, ready to start for the next winter.”