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MotoGP
2005 - Round 6 - Catalunya MotoGP Qualifying - Ducati Report June 11th, 2005
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MotoGP
2005 - Round 6 - Catalunya MotoGP Qualifying - Ducati Report June 11th, 2005
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| Ducati Marlboro Team
riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa used the improving
track conditions at Catalunya to secure sixth and eighth
places on the grid, after a day spent working out final race
set-up for Sunday's 25-lap Grand Prix. Both riders made huge
improvements in lap time, bettering their 2004 qualifying
efforts at the 4.727km Catalunya circuit, with Checa also
going a over a second faster than yesterday, despite
suffering a fall this morning. "That was a very positive finish to our day because we made ground consistently," said Ducati MotoGP Project Manager Livio Suppo. "Carlos had a crash this morning, but thankfully with no adverse consequences, and each rider was able to make good use of their qualifying tyres in the timed session. We have good race tyres but we still miss something. We know that at some circuits we can take an advantage but at this track probably we do not have. But we are at the start of a growing partnership with Bridgestone and we can be reasonably happy for the race." Loris Capirossi made great leaps in qualifying this afternoon, running his fastest lap almost a second better than his first day Catalunya best. Working hard to find the optimum setting for race conditions, his charge to a second row starting position was a necessarily late one. "This afternoon was much more positive than yesterday and this morning," stated Capirossi. "We have made a lot of modification in the set-up of the bike to suit the tyres, and their durability for the race. With these changes the bike is not super-competitive compared to our normal race set-up but it seems to be OK for the tyres. I'm am satisfied with the front tyre especially, as I had a lot of problems with it yesterday. This makes us more confident for tomorrow. We will need a good start and from the second row I should be able to get away with the leaders. Today I lapped in the 44s in full race trim, which is not bad, but a lot of riders were also very fast. So we will have to see what happens tomorrow." Checa had to wait until the very last minute of qualifying to ensure his third row start, improving his previous best times substantially to go eighth fastest. The Ducati Marlboro Team man had been up in third place at one stage, early in the final hour of qualifying, and found some of the confidence in his race set-up that he was missing on day one. "We are struggling to find competitiveness at this GP, but we have improved a lot since yesterday and this morning," said the Spaniard at his home race. "The main problem is the that the other competitors also improved a lot and I think the asphalt is in much better condition, so everyone could go faster. I am quite satisfied in many regards, and in our circumstances, eighth position is acceptable. We will keep working through warm-up as I would like to improve even more for tomorrow."
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MotoGP Championship
2005
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