Ask Me If I’m Happy: Lorenzo Baldassari amid the Superbike sharks, Go Eleven is enjoying it

Raise your hand if you would have imagined Lorenzo Baldassarri being this fast right away in the Superbike tests in Australia. The Go Eleven Ducati team guys are kicking off the post-Andrea Iannone era with smiles on their faces.

In the previous outings between Jerez and Portimao, Balda had practically never ridden on truly dry asphalt. At Phillip Island, however, the sun is blazing and the rider from Romagna let loose: fourth time in the opening session, seventh in the combined times of the two sessions. The key figure is the gap from the otherworldly Nicolò Bulega: just nine tenths. Baldassarri better than Alvaro Bautista: the rookie dove in among the sharks and looked them in the eye without fear.

"It was a long wait, today I let it all out" smiles the former Grand Prix rider. I’d say this first day went really well; I’m especially happy with my pace and the feeling with the crew. We’re working in small steps, but we’re starting to carve out our own path. I focused mainly on my riding style. I’m not yet one with the bike, but I don’t feel far off and the potential is huge. We have two more sessions to find a good base for the weekend and make up for everything we couldn’t do this winter."

Denis Sacchetti, team manager of the Piedmont-based outfit, is beaming as well. "Lorenzo has barely touched the bike; he wants to adapt first, to feel the Panigale V4 as his own, and we think that’s a perfect approach." Andrea Iannone tried to impose a MotoGP working method in the Go Eleven garage, which over time led to a series of misunderstandings and tensions. Here in Australia last year he made the podium, but in other circumstances the results didn’t fully bear him out. "Calm has returned to the garage; we’re all happy. We didn’t expect such a flying start, but all the better. What’s more, Balda was fast even after 26–27 laps on the same tire: on a track like this, that’s an important sign."

The factory Panigale V4 R with Bulega and Lecuona blew away the competition on the straight; Go Eleven’s satellite version was 4–5 km/h down on its sisters. "We’re using a test engine; for the weekend we think we can make a step forward, though I fear the others will too," Sacchetti clarifies. All the Ducatis went out on track with the fuel flowmeter set to the new regulatory value of 45 kg/hour of fuel, one kilo below the 46 reference. Bimota and Kawasaki (same engine) start at 46, while Honda and Yamaha will have 46.5 kg/hour of fuel, thanks to regulatory concessions. Looking at the speed charts, however, it seems the flowmeter has virtually no effect on performance.