DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS ON FINAL
DAY OF AUSTRALIA TEST
Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi confirm Desmosedici GP6's
potential on both qualifying and race tyres.
Phillip Island (Australia), Thursday 2 February 2006 - The
third and final day of Phillip Island testing was characterized
by fine weather, enabling the MotoGP teams to complete their
Australian preparations in view of the new season.
On a dry but not particularly quick track (as demonstrated
by the times recorded today and those in last October's race),
the two Ducati Marlboro Team riders notched up just over 885
kilometres to successfully complete the scheduled testing
work.
With new Bridgestone qualifying tyres, Sete Gibernau set
the quickest time of the day in 1m30.06s and Loris Capirossi
the second quickest time in 1m30.25s, while on race tyres
the Spanish rider was second on the unofficial timesheets,
and his team-mate fourth.
Gibernau put in an enormous amount of laps today, 102 in total;
he was satisfied with the progress made in the electronics
area and with the rapport established with the Bridgestone
technicians, and is now looking forward to the future with
confidence.
Sete Gibernau (102 laps) - best times 1m30.92
(race), 1m30.06s (qualifying)
"Today was a positive day, the team is working hard and
so are the guys back in the factory. We made a small step
forward with the engine braking software. With Bridgestone
we're still trying to find what we need to improve and make
the bike's handling more predictable. There is still a lot
of room for improvement and we will have to work hard in the
next tests. I'd just like to thank everyone for the commitment
and passion with which they have followed me so far: it's
a real pleasure to work in this way".
Loris Capirossi completed 97 laps of the track which included
a 13-lap mini-long run. The Italian was confident that he
would soon be able to count on tyres that will allow him to
be even more competitive.
Loris Capirossi (97 laps) - best times 1m31.07s
(race), 1m30.25 (qualifying)
"Today, thanks also to the favourable weather conditions,
we were able to get through a lot of work and do a lot of
laps. Every day that goes by I am more and more convinced
of the potential of the GP6, even at this track, which is
very fast and technical. I tested two chassis, one of which
was stiffer than the other, and at the next tests in Sepang
we will decide which one to use throughout the season. They
both have pros and cons, but for the moment I prefer the less
stiffer one. We have a big margin for improvement with the
tyres. Bridgestone have got a lot of data to work with to
make improvements in the next tests and, knowing them, I'm
sure they will".
After travelling around the world and testing for the last
fortnight, the entire Ducati Marlboro Team can now fly back
home. The break will last just one week however as they will
then return to the Far East for the final winter testing session
outside of Europe at the Sepang circuit again from February
14-16.
Temperature: air 26°-28° C / track 32°-43°
C
Unofficial times: 1. Marco Melandri (Honda),
1m30.60s; 2. Sete Gibernau (Ducati), 1m30.92s; 3. Nicky Hayden
(Honda), 1m30.99s; 4. Loris Capirossi (Ducati), 1m31.07s;
5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 1m31.10s; 6. Casey Stoner (Honda),
1m31.13s; 7. Kenny Roberts Jr. (KR), 1m31.68s; 8. Randy De
Puniet (Kawasaki), 1m31. 70s; 8. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki),
1m31.72s; 9. Makoto Tamada (Honda), 1m31.81s; 10. Toni Elias
(Honda), 1m32.14s; 11. Alex Hoffman (Ducati), 1m32.40s; 12.
Jose Luis Cardoso (Ducati), 1m32.52s.
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