World
superbike is the first series to get back on track after the
Christmas break, with testing in Qatar already complete and the teams
now in Australia at Philip Island.
Big
shock (not!) – Troy Bayliss and his factory Xerox Ducati have been
the fastest so far, followed by the other usual suspects. No doubt,
the recent decision to allow Ducati a 1,200 cc limit compared to the
inline fours’ 1,000 cc is helping considerably.
After the first day at Philip Island, Bayliss is followed by Nori Haga on
the Yamaha Motor Italia R1, with Yukio Kagayama third fastest on the
Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000. Kagayama’s team-mate Fonsi Nieto was
fourth, Haga’s team-mate Troy Corser was next, and Bayliss’ new
Ducati partner Michel Fabrizio was sixth.
Max Biaggi, on the satellite Ducati Sterilgarda Go-Eleven
team this year, matched the times of his experienced Ducati team-mate
Ruben Xaus in Biaggi’s first try on the new bike.
The
most interesting stuff happened in the Supersport (600 cc) group,
where new entrants Caracchi Triumph with their 675 cc triple showed
up with none other than ex-Moto GP ace Gary McCoy in the saddle to
set the fifth-fastest time.
Never mind the 200 cc, it’s Bayliss!