The Ducati Team, joined by its Pramac satellite outfit, as well as the Avintia Blusens team commenced the first of a three-day test at the Jerez circuit today.

On a cool but sunny day, Ducati’s Nicky Hayden set to work on trying all the parts and set-ups they couldn’t do at the Valencia test, which was affected by bad weather. Part of the schedule is to test two different chassis, as well as a new swingarm. The American, who missed most of the previous off-season due to injury, was hard at work, putting in a significant number of laps, posting the best time of 1.40’855.

His teammate Andrea Dovizioso was hoping to get more time to familiarise himself with his Ducati, yet only did two laps, before spending the rest of the day in a neck-brace, due to a recurring issue. He expects to be on track tomorrow. The Italian has stated that he will have a plate removed from his collarbone next week, yet that the current problem is unrelated.


For the Pramac team, MotoGP™ rookie Andrea Iannone was continuing his bedding-in phase as he learns the new bike and its complex electronics, setting the third fastest time with a 1.41’834. The aim is to find the perfect ergonomic position for Iannone, before the next official test in Malaysia. Michele Pirro was substituting for the injured Ben Spies, going second quickest with a 1.41’720.

The Avintia Racing outfit was also present testing its BQR-FTR machines with new riders Hiroshi Aoyama and Héctor Barberá, as well as fielding a strengthened technical staff with Giacomo Guidotti on the Spaniard’s side of the garage, Tom Jojic with Aoyama, and a permanent Öhlins technician Alex Salvá.

The three-day test is set to cover everything from the set-up of the team, practice for the riders, set-up of the bikes, etc. The aim is to head to Sepang next February with a specific plan to work through, with the first two days being for installation and configuration for the Magneti Marelli ECU, and the following three run as usual. Aoyama set a 1.42’509, and Barberá a 1.42’900.

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