Bautista, Davies commence two-day Ducati V4 R Aragon test

Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies are undertaking a two-day private test at Aragon with the Ducati test squad ahead of the start of the European stretch of the World Superbike championship.

Bautista, who has enjoyed a flawless start to his maiden World Superbike campaign by winning six out of six races in Australia and Thailand, heads to the circuit which will host his home round next month along with team-mate Davies for a two-day test which starts today (March 21).

Aragon hosts the third round of the current World Superbike championship, and marks the start of the European part of the season, on April 5-7.

Both riders are working with the official Ducati test team as the Aruba.it Racing Ducati squad returns from last weekend’s Thailand round.

Bautista will hope to maintain his 100% winning start to his rookie WorldSBK campaign in Aragon having matched Neil Hodgson’s feat – with the British rider’s run stretching to nine consecutive races – while Davies is a six-time race winner at the Spanish circuit.

Speaking after the Thailand round, team principal Stefano Cecconi sees the Aragon round as a truer test against its rivals given the unique and tough challenges both the opening flyaway rounds have offered.

“We are very happy to have brought home these fantastic results in the two overseas races, which for a number of reasons are very particular,” Cecconi said. “Now we can’t wait to go to Aragón where we’ve got all the markers to be able to face up to our rivals and understand how everyone is shaping up.

“We’re happy for Alvaro but at the same time disappointed that Chaz had an unlucky weekend, even though the improvements seen during the races give us confidence that we are now going in the right direction.”

Having struggled to adapt to the V4 R at the same rate as new team-mate Bautista, Davies is eager to find performance gains at Aragon and can run comparisons tests having completed an initial shakedown with the new Ducati Superbike at the circuit last November.

“We’ve got some clear ideas on the direction to take and there’s some light at the end of the tunnel,” Davies said. “Now we have the test at Aragon before the race, which is a good opportunity for us to make some more gains.”