Moto Rapido first test.

This week saw track debut of the Moto Rapido Ducati 1198S with new rider Scott Smart at the MSVR test day at Brands Hatch.

The official test day was the first time Scott had seen the finished bike so the team were looking forward to the scheduled three hours on track for some valuable set up ready for the first round on Easter Monday.

But with the weather switching between rain and sun the first session available didn’t come until after lunch, then the rains came again and they finished the day with just 45 mins of usable tracktime.  This was however just enough for the team to get a base setting ready for the final tweaks prior to the race.

“We did at least have some data for Brands from last season so we had a good starting point but as this was the first time Scott had ridden the 1198 we were expecting to be making a few changes to set up, but with only two dry sessions available we simply ran out of time for fine tuning.  The data analyser on the Ducati is a superb tool for set up and saves us a lot of time on track as we were able to make the changes that we knew would be in the right direction.  The team and Scott got on very well and we’re all now looking forward to the first race!” Steve Moore – Team Principal

“Despite the frustrations of the weather we had a great day.  Having not even met the whole team before  I was very pleased with the 1198S and its performance.  The set up the team had put together worked well and we only had to make a few changes to get the lap times we were expecting.  It certainly looks like the Ducati will be as competitive as I’d hoped for.  I’m now looking forward to the first round when we can put it to the test properly.” – Scott Smart No 88.

****For more photos of the test day click here***