The Ducati Xerox Team will tackle a new track this weekend as the Superbike calendar takes them to America and the Miller Motorsports Park of Salt Lake City, Utah. Having successfully hosted the AMA American Superbike series on two previous occasions, Miller this year steps up to the challenge of organising the Superbike double-header, with both the World Superbike and national Superbike teams racing at the circuit over the weekend.

The World Superbike series last came to America in 2004 but to the Laguna Seca track, while Troy Bayliss’ last visit to the States and that track with the Ducati Superbike Team was in 2002 and resulted in a win and a second place finish.

Troy Bayliss heads to America this time around with a 78 point championship lead, a useful advantage to have seeing as the Salt Lake track will be new to everybody. Michel Fabrizio hopes that the fact that the circuit is an unknown quantity will put all the riders on an even keel for the races.

Troy Bayliss

"I miss America and so am happy to be going back there this season. In one way I’m sorry we’re not going back to Laguna, a track I enjoyed and know well but having said that, I met the owner and designer of the Miller track while at Assen and saw the layout and it looks like a great track too. To be honest that is about all I know of the track at the moment, it looks pretty safe but might also get very dusty so we’ll have to see when we get there. I have good memories of racing in America - my last visit was when I was in GP and I did ok so yeah, I’m looking forward to going back there again! "

Michel Fabrizio

"I’ve never been to the States, not even on holiday, so I’m excited to go there. It will be good to ride a completely unknown track and as it’s new to everyone, not just me, it means that we’re all going there blind and no-one has any particular advantage. All I know of the track so far is what I’ve learnt by seeing the track on the SBK08 X-Box videogame and it seems like a great track. It should be nice, also with the American Superbikes racing too and so I’m really looking forward to it."