Marlboro Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez Qualifying, Saturday
April 9 2005
CAPIROSSI DELIGHTS DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi produced an amazing
qualifying performance at windswept Jerez this afternoon,
scorching to sixth on the grid, despite riding with a cracked
left ankle. The tough little Italian suffered the injury in
a nasty tumble during this morning's session but chose to
ride on with the aid of pain-killing injections. Team-mate
Carlos Checa is also riding injured, his recently dislocated
left shoulder keeping him down in 12th spot.
This weekend's season-opening Marlboro Spanish GP sees the
introduction of various new MotoGP regulations, including
a single-session qualifying format and a reduction in fuel
capacity to rein in engine performance.
"For us there are two big changes this season - the
reduction in fuel capacity to 22 litres and the improvement
in tyre performance," said Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali.
"When you have more grip you use more fuel because you
can open the throttle sooner and, of course, we have less
fuel to use. That's why we're still working at finding a perfect
set-up for the race, so we're absolutely delighted with Loris'
amazing qualifying performance today. It's extra special because
he is riding injured and because, apart from qualifying tyres,
we did qualifying using a race set-up with normal race engine-mapping
and so on."
Domenicali also confirmed his confidence in the factory's
innovative new engine-braking system, which both riders are
using here. "I am 100 per cent positive that this is
the future," he added. "Of course, it isn't fully
matured yet, we are still making improvements to the software
but our progress with the system has been very positive."
CAPIROSSI BATTLES TO SECOND-ROW START
When Loris Capirossi highsided from his Ducati Marlboro Team
Desmosedici GP5 at turn three this morning he suffered a hairline
fracture of a bone in his left ankle. But that wasn't enough
to put him out of action.
"After the crash I went to the Clinica Mobile, where
Dr Costa asked me what I wanted to do," he said. "As
usual I told him I wanted to go on, so they gave me three
pain-killing injections in the ankle. I can ride okay but
it's not easy downshifting, so I'm really happy with this
fantastic sixth place. I used two qualifying tyres - I didn't
fully exploit the first but the second tyre, which I'd never
tried before, wasn't too bad, so I was quite fast. The bike
is growing, getting better all the time, but, of course, we
still have improvements to make. I must say a big thank you
to my crew for rebuilding my bike so quickly. I don't know
what to expect in the race except that the ankle won't be
great."
CHECA'S SHOULDER STILL WEAK
Carlos Checa was an impressive fifth fastest after 30 minutes
this afternoon but his shoulder got weaker as the session
went on. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider ended up 12th and
expects a gruelling race tomorrow.
"Towards the end of the session the shoulder wasn't so
strong, which made it difficult to hold a line, so I was losing
speed mid-corner," said the Spaniard, cheered all the
way by the Jerez crowd. "The strong wind made things
even worse. I think we will be okay in the early stages of
the race but it's difficult to know what to expect later on.
This is my first race with this bike, so I just want to get
to know it some more and learn as much as I can."
|
