202.5mph Ducati sets speed record!

Loris Capirossi's clocked the fastest top speed ever recorded by a GP bike at Catalunya today, when the Italian rocketed through the speed trap at a phenomenal 325.9kmh/202.5mph.

The previous best was 324.5kmh/ 201.6mph, recorded on Mugello's faster straight by Honda rider Tohru Ukawa during last year's Italian GP.

Despite this prize, Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli was quick to play down the remarkable performance.

"We're very pleased," he admitted. "But I'd like to say that whenever you have the best top speed but not the best lap time, it means that there are other bikes going around the corners faster, which means we still have some thinking to do!

"We've had a good day today, Troy continuing to learn the track, because this is his first visit here, while Loris did some set-up tests and tried Michelin's 2003 tyres."

This week's tests - the team's penultimate session before the season kicks off at Suzuka on April 6 - are particularly significant because they mark the first appearance of the definitive Ducati Marlboro factory machines, as opposed to the pre-prototype bikes that have been used at all previous tests.

The differences are minimal - just detail changes to bodywork and a neater finish to some parts - but the bikes have performed well.

Capirossi ended the day second fastest behind Alex Barros. "I'm very happy with what we've achieved so far," said the former 125 and 250 champ. "It's great to be fastest on the straight, though top speed isn't so important, what I'm really happy about is the overall performance of the bike - it's very, very good - and it's getting better every day. I'm using the new bike for the first time here, so we're just working at fine-tuning now."

Bayliss, who clocked an amazing 90 laps during private tests here on Thursday, is steadily getting to grips with this complex circuit. "There's some places that are easy first time out, while other places take longer to get to grips with," said the Australian.

"We've been working on a lot of things here - mainly grip and handling - and I felt like I'd run into a bit of a wall this morning. We finally started to make some progress this afternoon, just as it started raining! Overall I'm pretty happy, but after going to so many new tracks, it'd just be nice to go to a track that I know, somewhere I'd know the limit."

Testing concludes tomorrow...