Luca Bernardi confident 'we’ll be there when it counts'
Barni Spark Ducati rider Luca Bernardi is confident of starting the 2022 WorldSBK season in competitive fashion after making his testing debut for the Italian manufacturer.
Bernardi was one of four Ducati riders to get their 2022 preparations underway during last week’s two day Portimao test.
After failing to finish out the 2021 WorldSSP season due to injury, Bernardi was making his on track return for the first time in six months.
Despite being 3.3 seconds off world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu on the final day, Bernardi managed to better his day one lap time by over a second following considerable improvements, especially regarding his long run pace.
Speaking after the test, Bernardi highlighted the start of the season (April 8-10) as the point where he’ll be most comfortable with Superbike machinery, while also confirming his next test will take place at Misano next month.
Bernardi added: "I am very happy with these two days of testing with the Barni Racing Team. There's a lot of work to do, and I still have lots of things to learn about the electronic controls, which I wasn't used to.
"Nevertheless, having improved the lap time run by run makes me very confident. I can't wait to get back on track at Misano because there's a long way to go, but when it counts we'll be there."
Bernardi, who is competing on a Ducati Panigale V4-RS22 this season, completed over 120 laps across both days, while team-mate in the WorldSSP category Oliver Bayliss was replaced by Nicholas Spinelli on day two after the Australian suffered an ankle injury just nine laps into his Supersport debut.
"We knew the start would be challenging. Six months after his serious injury, Bernardi was back on the bike for the first time," added Team Principal, Marco Barnabo. "He's still not at 100%, but it was crucial for him to get back on the bike and get confident with the Panigale V4 R and the new category.
"That is why I can say the debut is positive. He improved a lot in all aspects between the first and second day.
"Oliver committed a sin of youth. We didn't need the injury, but a crash can happen. I want to thank Nicholas for joining the team, allowing us to do some kilometres on the V2, check that everything was OK and continuing to work on the set-up."
