Ruben Xaus likes Utah, and Jazz. How odd is that? image by stephen schnarf

Soup caught up with Ruben Xaus just after Friday WSBK qualifying, and asked him what his initial impressions of Miller Motorsports Park were.

"I like it a lot, it's awesome, but the front straight is too long, which is boring. We use fifth gear, I use a tall sprocket because the Ducati doesn't have as much RPM as an inline four. Other then the long straight, everything else is nice. Compared to Laguna, I like both about the same because they're very different. I wish we had more tracks like this in Europe; we've got them, but WSBK chooses tracks that are very flat, which are less about riding style and ability, and more about having a fast bike."

On riding the Sterilgarda 1098R vs his old FILA 999R: "The new bike is awesome, but there's so much competition now. We have thirteen or fourteen official four-cylinder entrants, so it's hard. But we're in the top ten already so it's good".

On the personality of the 1098R vs the 999R, he said: "The 1098 is still a Ducati, but more rideable. You put the bike somewhere, it stays there. The 999 was a typical Ducati that pushed you wide in corners. Physically, this bike is much much easier, it's just awesome."

Xaus provisionally qualified in 8th on Friday.