MotoGP 2005 - Round 2

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi secured fifth and 12th fastest times on the opening day of practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix, on the slowest circuit on the MotoGP calendar. Each rider carried some degree of injury into the early session, with Capirossi recovering from a cracked bone in his left ankle and Checa still suffering pain from a pre-season shoulder dislocation. Rain in the morning session held back progress for a time, making for a busy afternoon of work. Threatening rain clouds passed by without incident in the second session, at a circuit well known for providing changeable track conditions. The team has not used the new engine braking control system which was tried out for most of the weekend at Jerez last week.

Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo stated. "It looks better than it did at Jerez and that is important. It is just a case of the riders regaining confidence and of course, for Loris especially, recovering from injury. It is painful for him during gearchanges and it also affects his mobility on the bike. So it is difficult for him. Carlos rode consistently well: we are happy for him and his shoulder is not a big trouble at the moment. I think we can be confident of a good weekend."

Ducati Marlboro Team man Carlos Checa was up to second fastest after a few minutes of afternoon track action. Working hard on machine set-up, he now looks forward to the second day and the single timed qualifying session, which will determine the shape of the grid for Sunday's race. He set fifth fastest time today, with a 1'39.200.

"The situation is that we could not test too many different front and rear tyres this morning but we can see that we have good potential in some areas. The engineers have to work clearly and cleverly for tomorrow, to put everything in a situation where I can ride the bike at my best. My shoulder is in less pain here, at least for a few laps. It does not disturb me too much, because the feeling from the bike is quite good. I am quite confident for this weekend."

The Ducati Marlboro Team man struggled against the effects of his recently cracked left ankle, setting a best time of 1'39.820 and going 12th on the leader board. Capirossi, in pain in each session and running wide on occasion, due to his difficulties changing down the gears entering turns, was nonetheless combative in outlook.

"Today has not been easy and the track is in a strange condition. The tarmac was too cold and it made it difficult for the tyres to work in the correct way. I also have problems shifting down gears. I knew this GP would be even more difficult than Jerez, because the injury was fresh there, but now I have been walking on it for a few days. The foot feels like it is being punctured with needles all the time. It needs time to recover. The important thing is to fix the bike and then we will think about the race."

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