DUCATI MARLBORO MEN RUE INJURIES AT JEREZ
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi
made an injury-blighted start to the 2005 MotoGP season at
Jerez today, riding courageously to tenth and 13th positions.
Checa, suffering from a recent shoulder injury, was even uncertain
that he would be strong enough to finish the race. Capirossi
meanwhile needed pain-killing injections to race with the
ankle injury he sustained yesterday.
"A big thank you to Carlos and Loris, it must have
been a very tough day for both of them," said Ducati
Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. "Of course, their injuries
didn't make things easier for the team as a whole, plus we
have had a busy weekend testing our new engine-braking control
system. In the end we decided to race with the standard system
because after warm-up we found that the bikes had suffered
excessive chain stretch when the riders made their usual practice
starts. We hadn't encountered this problem during testing
with the new system. We stay here to test tomorrow, after
which we will decide which system to use at Estoril next weekend."
CHECA BATTLES TO TENTH WITH WEAK SHOULDER
Carlos Checa ran strong during the early stages of today's
race, riding in the thick of a frantic skirmish for sixth
spot until he began to slip back, troubled by his still-weak
left shoulder, the legacy of a fall during tests at Catalunya
last month. Although the injury is not painful, it drastically
reduces upper-body strength, making bike control difficult,
to say the very least.
"To be honest, I didn't even expect to finish the race,"
said Checa. "At first things weren't too bad, but then
Tamada made contact with me while trying to pass on the brakes.
That hurt the shoulder again, then Barros and Bayliss came
past and I couldn't stay with Biaggi and Edwards when they
attacked. Physically and technically it's been a tough weekend,
so all things considered, this isn't such a bad result."
CAPIROSSI SCORES DESPITE ANKLE INJURY
Loris Capirossi won three points for his pains this afternoon,
battling to control his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5
with a cracked bone in his left ankle, sustained during a
nasty highside crash yesterday morning.
"My thanks to the Clinica Mobile who made it possible
for me to race," said the gritty Italian who had started
from the second row of the grid. "I did my best but unfortunately
I wasn't able to ride the bike the way I like to ride it.
I had problems shifting gears and so I made a few mistakes.
I tried as hard as I could and I managed to finish. The result
isn't great but two or three points are always better than
none."
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