Losail Grand Prix, Qatar
Qualifying,
DUCATI MARLBORO RIDER CAPIROSSI ON LOSAIL FRONT ROW
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau
qualified second and seventh respectively for the Qatar GP,
putting Capirossi on the front row and making Gibernau the
first rider on row three. Capirossi was firmly on target for
his second pole of the season until Casey Stoner took a new
circuit best lap, leaving Capirossi's 1'55.721s lap time only
0.038 seconds from pole. The Italian rider backed up his qualifying
prowess with fully competitive times on race tyres, filling
his team with confidence for a strong race result. Gibernau
had the misfortune to miss a second row start by only 0.101
seconds, in what was the Spanish rider's first visit to Qatar
on the Desmosedici GP6. He was less than half a second from
pole, thanks to a best lap of 1'56.177s, having already made
improvements in his race pace in the earlier practice session.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, second fastest, 1m 55.721s
"I missed pole by only 38 thousandths of a second. On
my final fast lap I tried too hard in last part of the track
and the bike slid a couple of times. I lost a few tenths and
missed my second pole of 2006. It doesn't matter so much,
because last year I was on pole at Qatar but not so competitive
in the race. This year we have a very good race tyres. This
morning things were a little difficult as the track was dirty
and we made some modifications to the set-up, which did not
work the way we expected. So we went back to our existing
settings on the front of the bike and that allowed me to be
fast, on both qualifiers and race rubber. The championship
has just started but it is important to be competitive all
the time. The track is proving to be less difficult for us
than expected and we made a nearly perfect job this weekend.
Bridgestone has done a great job in these months! I think
we can be an important part of the game tomorrow."
SETE GIBERNAU, seventh fastest, 1m 56.177s
"The race lap times are not too bad so it's a pity to
be so close to the second row and not get there. Normally
that's as far as you want to be back from pole. We have some
work to do in the morning warm up to get more feeling on the
front because we are still playing catch-up a little. We need
to find two or three tenths to be able to fight for a good
race finish and the start will be crucial. Before I have to
think about the start I want to make the bike a little bit
easier to ride, because now we are pushing the front a bit
too much."
Temperatures: Ambient: 32 degrees. Track: 45 degrees
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