02 Feb 2010
The Ducati Motologic Racing Team has caught everyone’s attention at their first test of the new Ducati 1198R last Thursday and Friday at the Phillip Island circuit when they recorded some very fast lap times on the new Dunlop control tyres.

The ASBK organized practice days were the first opportunity the team and Jamie have had to see what the much anticipated Ducati 1198R can really do and with many adjustments still to be made to the bike set-up, the season looks set to be a very positive one for the team at Ducati Motologic Racing.

It was two-time Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer out on track for the initial testing with team mate Jordan Burgess to join the team at the second test in February.

Stauffer’s fastest time for the two days was an unofficial 1:35.1 sec on the Dunlop control tyre.

It seems the interest in the new Ducati 1198R as the brand enters the Australian Superbike scene for the first time in 10 years is not restricted to the Ducati Motologic Race Team.  Everyone was surprised by the times recorded by the standard bike at its first outing with the team.

With another test day scheduled for February, Stauffer is keen to get back on the Ducati again.

Jamie Stauffer:  It was a terrific couple of days and any questions I had about the difference in riding a V-twin compared to a 4 cylinder were answered immediately as I adapted to the Ducati 1198R.  I felt really comfortable on it.  There were really just a limited number of changes made to the bike which everyone commented on after they saw the lap times that we were producing so I feel very positive about the next test as we will be able to modify the set-up a lot more by that stage and I will have a better feel for the new control tyre from Dunlop which of course goes for everyone.  The new team came together really well and very quickly with everyone communicating well and getting the job done.  It will be a really exciting year.

There is much still to do at Motologic in readiness for the team’s first race event with the Ducati, but team owner and manager, Paul Free is cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.

Paul Free:  The test with Jamie went extremely well.  We went to the test with no idea of the real capabilities of the bike and were very pleasantly surprised.  We are very much looking forward to the arrival of the Ducati performance parts which will raise the overall performance of the motorcycle.  In line with this, we are also awaiting the arrival of some race spec Ohlins suspension parts.  From there we just need to build a better understanding of this package as a whole and just get it all working in harmony.

The first race will be at Phillip Island for Round 1 of the Australian Superbike Series during the World Superbike event February 26-28.