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MotoGP
2005 - Round 4 - Le Mans MotoGP Second Practice - Ducati Report May 13th, 2005
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MotoGP
2005 - Round 4 - Le Mans MotoGP Second Practice - Ducati Report May 13th, 2005
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| This year's MotoGP series
is fast becoming the wet weather World Championship - rain
dominated the first day of practice here at Le Mans, making
this the third of four events so far this year to have been
affected by rainfall.
This morning's first practice
session got underway in the damp, and though the track had
almost dried by the end of the hour, the rain returned
during this afternoon's session. Some riders were fastest
this morning, others this afternoon, suggesting that today's
lap times don't count for much. Ducati Marlboro Team riders
Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi ended the day ninth and
11th. Carlos Checa needs dry track time more than most because he's in his first season with the Ducati Marlboro Team, getting to know a new bike and new tyres. Nevertheless, the Spaniard made the best of today's weather, using the tricky conditions to fine tune his Desmosedici. "This weather is the worst thing for us because we start each weekend from zero, so we need consistent weather to build up data," said Checa, ninth quickest in a closely packed top ten. "But anyway it's also good to test in the wet because you can learn stuff, especially on engine set-up, which can also help you in the dry. We need to work at improving wet-weather grip but I'm happy with the bike in the dry - I can feel that it has good balance." Loris Capirossi made steady progress throughout the first day of practice at Le Mans, making improvements to his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici despite the ever-changing weather conditions. He ended the day 11th quickest, just two tenths behind his team-mate. "We improved the bike this
afternoon after fixing a few things that had troubled me in
morning practice," explained Capirossi. "Unfortunately we
only got 15 minutes dry track time this afternoon. Despite
the weather I'm really happy with the way things are going
with the bike and the tyres. Of course we need more dry
weather if we are to continue working on race-distance
performance but I'm much happier than I usually am at this
stage." |
MotoGP Championship
2005
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