Team SBK Ducati Alstare and rider Ayrton Badovini have completed a two-day test session at Phillip Island circuit in Australia ahead of next weekend’s opening round of the 2013 World Superbike Championship.
Unfortunately rider Carlos Checa was taken to hospital prior to the start of the test session with stomach pain and nausea. He was subsequently treated for a blocked intestine.
The work therefore fell to Badovini and the young Italian was pleased to be able to make the most of the warm and sunny conditions on day one, making good progress on track and gaining confidence with his 1199 Panigale. The morning of day two however brought a highside at turn 9 that signaled the end of his test session. Worried about a possible broken rib Ayrton was taken to hospital for further checks but fortunately he sustained no serious injuries.
Francis Batta’, Team SBK Ducati Alstare Owner: ‘For me, this is the first real test for the team as a whole – that is all the mechanics working together – and although the bike is new and very different to any previous Ducati, I am very happy with how this project is going. It is a complex project, but a beautiful one and we’re all really looking forward to making it work as well as we can. It is unfortunate that Carlos couldn’t ride at all. He suffered some sort of stomach problem the day after he arrived in Australia. Possibly it was something to do with jet-lag, the air-conditioning on the plane and the change of temperature. He went to hospital, but there are no big problems and we expect him to be back for the tests next week and then the race afterwards. Ayrton made a good start. He took things steadily, but used his head and kept improving. He gave the team a lot of information, so it was a shame that he crashed and couldn’t ride for the rest of the day. He has also gone to hospital (a different one to Carlos). We don’t think there are any problems but await the hospital’s confirmation. I’m a little frustrated because we couldn’t do as much development work as we wanted, but I am very happy about how well the collaboration with Ducati has been going over these days and we’re all looking forward to getting back on track next week.’
The team hopes for better luck during the official test sessions that will take place on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 at the same track.
