DesmoSport Ducati press release:

The 2017 Australian Superbike Championship arrives at Wakefield Park Raceway in Goulburn this weekend for round two of the season, where DesmoSport Ducati rookie Callum Spriggs will continue his premier class learning curve.

Queensland’s Spriggs, 22, had a positive test aboard his 1299 Panigale S at the tight and technical 2.2-kilometre circuit following the opening round and will carry an increased amount of confidence when practice opens on Friday morning.

“I’m pretty confident for this round and I feel like we have everything sorted heading in,” Spriggs commented. “Whether it’s dry or wet, I feel like we will be able to get some good points and strong results for the team. This is where the season starts for me really, after what happened at Phillip Island.

“The feeling on the Panigale is good at Wakefield, I am really comfortable on it there and have done plenty of laps there. We will be prepared for whatever the weather brings and I’m excited to go racing again with DesmoSport Ducati.”

Phillip Island’s opening round was a challenging initiation for Spriggs in the Superbike ranks, caught out by a mishap in the single qualifying session and forced to start from 36th on the grid in all three races. Still, he remained composed to claim eight points, which will almost certainly be improved upon at the second round.

Team co-owner Ben Henry, who is in partnership with three-time Superbike world championship Troy Bayliss, is confident that Spriggs will put in a positive performance at round two following an encouraging pre-race test.

“We are really looking forward to this weekend and we tested well,” Henry explained. “Cal is meeting our expectations, keeping on improving, and I’m really happy with him at the moment. He’s doing exactly what we hoped, steadily moving forward and so far, so good. His lap-time at the Wakefield test was quite good, so he will hopefully be really competitive this weekend.”

Three practice sessions at Wakefield Park are scheduled for Friday, with a pair of 30-minute qualifying sessions set for Saturday. Race-day Sunday will see the Superbike field contest two 20-lap affairs to cap-off the event. Visit www.asbk.com.au for further information on the round and series.