DesmoSport Ducati press release:
DesmoSport Ducati’s Cru Halliday pushed to sixth position in race two of the national Superbike support category this afternoon at Phillip Island’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
In his first extended run of dry laps aboard the factory-supported 1299 Panigale S at the 4.445-kilometre grand prix circuit, Halliday progressively improved from eighth on the grid and climbed to sixth by race’s end.
On lap one Halliday moved forward to seventh and then into sixth on the second lap, but then dropped back to seventh as he came to grips with the Pirelli-equipped Panigale mid-race. A strong finish saw Halliday work his way back to P6 after setting his fastest time on the eighth and final lap.
“The only real dry session we had previously was practice one, so we went into race two a bit unsure of the settings, but we’re heading in the right direction with DesmoSport Ducati,” Halliday commented. “I managed to go quicker at the end of the race, but not quick enough just yet, so we will try to improve further tomorrow.
“Hopefully we can continue to head in the right direction for Sunday’s race, take into account what we learned today and then pick up where we left off. The aim is to improve the laptime and then if I can do that there’s a chance we could get up into the top five.”
Halliday was called into the DesmoSport Ducati squad earlier this week when team regular Mike Jones secured a seat at Avintia Racing Ducati for the second round in a row. Jones has qualified 19th on the grid for the Australian round of the MotoGP World Championship.