BSB - Airwaves Ducati Make Progress At Donington Park - September 23rd 2005

Ducati riders Gregorio Lavilla and Leon Haslam made good progress during the two free practice sessions as the twelfth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship got underway today. With heavy rain throughout the morning session, both riders were keen to fine tune their Airwaves Ducatis as soon as the conditions cleared and were pleased with the progress they made. Having tested here in June, the riders were quickly into their groove and are hopeful for good qualifying times tomorrow. Gregorio finished the day in fourth with a time of 1.34.468s and Leon clocked a best lap time of 1.35.276s to finish tenth.

Airwaves Ducati Team Manager, Colin Wright, was happy with the progress: "We are pleased with what we've achieved considering the weather conditions this morning. Both riders were working on different aspects of the bike and we've also tried some new tyres from Dunlop. We will continue to fine tune things tomorrow and there are a couple more things to work on but I'm encouraged by the times and hopeful for qualifying".

Leon is hopeful of improving for qualifying: "I know the track well so I was straight into my rhythm but I'm looking to get better tomorrow. The conditions weren't great, especially this morning, and I know there is plenty to come from the Airwaves Ducati tomorrow so I'm happy so far. Generally, the bike feels good but there are one or two small changes we can work on to go quicker".

Gregorio was pleased with his efforts: "I'm feeling good in general but I just need to do a few more laps to really fine tune the settings on the bike. We are going to work on the steering especially and I am hopeful of going even quicker tomorrow. I was trying a new tyre today and will do some more laps with it tomorrow to push it to the limits and set a good qualifying time".

The twelfth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship continues with two 50 minute qualifying sessions tomorrow before two 20-lap races on Sunday 25th September.

Practice Times:

1. 1: Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:34.166
2. 2: Michael Rutter (Honda) +0.032
3. 3: Karl Harris (Honda) +0.083
4. 4: Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) +0.302
5. 5: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) +0.463
6. 6: Tommy Hill (Yamaha) +0.572
7. 7: JOHN REYNOLDS (RIZLA SUZUKI) +0.818
8. 8: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) +0.823
9. 9: Steve Plater (Honda) +0.956
10. 10: Leon Haslam (Ducati) +1.110