MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news MotoGP 2005 - Round 9 - Donington
MotoGP Second Practice - Ducati Report
July 22nd, 2005

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Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa did their best to get to grips with a cool and damp Donington Park today. But the changeable weather played havoc with their normal Friday schedule of establishing base settings and testing new Bridgestone tyres as they work towards the best-possible combination for Sunday's race. Morning conditions were very cool, with the track offering minimal grip, while drizzle fell throughout much of this afternoon's practice session.

"We are enjoying the English summer!" smiled Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. "Conditions were cold this morning and damp this afternoon, so it was difficult for us to do the kind of set-up work we usually do on the first day of practice. Let's hope that tomorrow's weather is at least consistent, though from what we've heard of the forecast, there'll be showers tomorrow and heavier rain on race day."

CAPIROSSI IMPRESSED BY 2005 DESMOSEDICI
Loris Capirossi may only have ended today's two sessions in tenth spot, but the cautious Ducati Marlboro Team man was pleased to note how his 2005 Desmosedici handles Donington's crucial slow-speed section. The Italian ended up just 0.637 seconds off the fastest rider of the day.
"Like everyone, I realise that Sunday's race may be damp, just like this afternoon," he said. "But there's no point in pushing too hard when practicing in these conditions, it's too risky, so it becomes like roulette, only the lucky guys don't crash. The track was very slippery this afternoon, so we've not had much chance to test all the new tyres that Bridgestone have brought here for us. Now we need to decide with Bridgestone which tyres we will test tomorrow, because we have a lot to test. One thing I was pleased to note was that this year's bike works really well here, especially in the slow parts of the track, which were a real problem last year."

CHECA 11th IN WET 'N' DRY CONDITIONS
Carlos Checa ended the day just one place behind his team-mate and 0.894 seconds off 'pole position', doing his best to test tyres and work on set-up between the rain showers. The Spaniard slid off at low speed at the Goddard hairpin this morning but was able to complete the session.

"We weren't able to learn much today," said the Ducati Marlboro Team rider. "When conditions keep changing, there's not much you can do of any real use. This afternoon we couldn't even do any rain-tyre testing because the track wasn't wet enough. After it started drizzling I returned to the pits to wait for the track to dry, because there's not much you can do in these half-wet, half-dry conditions. Our main focus for Sunday is to help the bike use the right side of the tyre as gently as possible, because the right side gets a lot of stress during 30 laps here."
 

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