MotoGP 2005 - Round 1

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi produced an amazing qualifying performance at windswept Jerez this afternoon, scorching to sixth on the grid, despite riding with a cracked left ankle. The tough little Italian suffered the injury in a nasty tumble during this morning's session but chose to ride on with the aid of pain-killing injections. Team-mate Carlos Checa is also riding injured, his recently dislocated left shoulder keeping him down in 12th spot.

This weekend's season-opening Marlboro Spanish GP sees the introduction of various new MotoGP regulations, including a single-session qualifying format and a reduction in fuel capacity to rein in engine performance.

"For us there are two big changes this season - the reduction in fuel capacity to 22 litres and the improvement in tyre performance," said Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. "When you have more grip you use more fuel because you can open the throttle sooner and, of course, we have less fuel to use. That's why we're still working at finding a perfect set-up for the race, so we're absolutely delighted with Loris' amazing qualifying performance today. It's extra special because he is riding injured and because, apart from qualifying tyres, we did qualifying using a race set-up with normal race engine-mapping and so on."

Domenicali also confirmed his confidence in the factory's innovative new engine-braking system, which both riders are using here. "I am 100 per cent positive that this is the future," he added. "Of course, it isn't fully matured yet, we are still making improvements to the software but our progress with the system has been very positive."

When Loris Capirossi highsided from his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 at turn three this morning he suffered a hairline fracture of a bone in his left ankle. But that wasn't enough to put him out of action.

"After the crash I went to the Clinica Mobile, where Dr Costa asked me what I wanted to do," he said. "As usual I told him I wanted to go on, so they gave me three pain-killing injections in the ankle. I can ride okay but it's not easy downshifting, so I'm really happy with this fantastic sixth place. I used two qualifying tyres - I didn't fully exploit the first but the second tyre, which I'd never tried before, wasn't too bad, so I was quite fast. The bike is growing, getting better all the time, but, of course, we still have improvements to make. I must say a big thank you to my crew for rebuilding my bike so quickly. I don't know what to expect in the race except that the ankle won't be great."

Carlos Checa was an impressive fifth fastest after 30 minutes this afternoon but his shoulder got weaker as the session went on. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider ended up 12th and expects a gruelling race tomorrow.

"Towards the end of the session the shoulder wasn't so strong, which made it difficult to hold a line, so I was losing speed mid-corner," said the Spaniard, cheered all the way by the Jerez crowd. "The strong wind made things even worse. I think we will be okay in the early stages of the race but it's difficult to know what to expect later on. This is my first race with this bike, so I just want to get to know it some more and learn as much as I can."

Search the site - Late Braking News - Forum

Bike Tests - Features - Wallpaper - Race Calendar

MCNEWS.COM.AU