Dutch TT, Assen - Qualifying
DUCATI MARLBORO MEN 7th AND 13th AT ASSEN
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa
had a tough second day at Assen, placing seventh and 13th
fastest in this afternoon's qualifying session at the sun-drenched
Dutch track. The pair will therefore start tomorrow's 75th
Dutch TT from the third and fifth rows of the grid.
"Definitely a difficult day," said Ducati MotoGP
project manager Livio Suppo. "We are working very hard
with Bridgestone to find the best compromise between performance
and endurance, but we don't seem to have it here. This year
they have produced a new generation of tyres with improved
construction, but they are still working to find the ideal
combination of construction and compound at some tracks. At
Mugello earlier this month the tyres worked really well but
here we don't have such a good rear. The front is fine, but
we are struggling with the rear. Nevertheless, we are very
confident in Bridgestone's potential and we know they are
working very hard to keep improving."
CAPIROSSI: FASTEST YESTERDAY, 7th TODAY
Loris Capirossi topped yesterday's practice sessions but was
unable to reproduce that performance today. He ended up seventh,
just 1.2 seconds off pole around MotoGP's longest racetrack.
"I'm a good rider, I want to win, and I know what I
can do when everything is working well," said the Italian
Ducati Marlboro Team man. "Here it seems we're not able
to run up front. We are in a better situation than we were
in at Barcelona, but not much better. It seems like the high-speed
changes of direction affect the rear tyre, which then starts
to move around. Also, I'm lacking traction into the corners,
so I wouldn't be unhappy if it rains tomorrow!
"On another matter, yesterday we had a riders' meeting
to discuss the new chicane and we told the organisers that
we want it modified, so that a rider who runs off through
the right-hander won't collide with other riders when he regains
the track through the left-hander."
CHECA QUALIFIES 13th QUICKEST
Carlos Checa was just seven tenths off 'pole position' yesterday
but had an tougher time as the pace increased today, ending
qualifying 13th.
"We are struggling with race tyres and I didn't make
the best of my qualifying tyres either," said the Spanish
Ducati Marlboro Team rider. "I was almost a second faster
with my qualifier but that's not enough around here. I did
do 14 or 15 laps with the same rear today but the performance
wasn't so great. So, that's why I think a little rain wouldn't
be so bad."
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