XEROX DUCATI man Michel Fabrizio has ended the Pirelli tyre development tests at Kyalami, South Africa fastest overall. The 24-year-old Ducati Xerox rider headed the timesheets on every one of the three-day test and in the final session he was quickest on both race tyres and qualifying rubber with a best of 1m 39.714 seconds.
American Champion Ben Spies, despite having only one '09-spec Yamaha R1 available after his big crash on Thursday, was quick at the end of the test too.
Third quickest time went to the other factory Ducati machine of Noriyuki Haga, making his debut on the 1098 F09. The Hannspree Ten Kate Hondas were well up in the standings after three days of testing too, with 22-year-old Jonathan Rea looking promising in fourth place ahead of 35-year-old Carlos Checa in fifth.
Max Biaggi's debut on the RSV4 proper was halted by an oil leak in the morning session with the Italian finishing the test with a positive eighth quickest time, one second exactly off the pace of the leading Ducati.
Troy Corser had a harmless crash in the morning on his BMW S1000RR machine, the other major new entry in the 2009 season. The German bike is still slightly off the development pace in comparison with the other manufacturers but the experienced Australian is convinced that the potential is high.
Final times:
1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'39"714;
2. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'39"978;
3. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'39"984;
4. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'40"035;
5. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'40"170;
6. Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki) 1'40"394;
7. Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki) 1'40"657;
8. Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'40"768;
9. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'40"968;
10. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'41"067;
11. Corser (Aus-Bmw) 1'41"102;
12. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'41"562;
13. Xaus (Spa-Bmw) 1'41"996.
