Qualifying Practice - Assen
CAPIROSSI BATTLES PAIN, HOFMANN ON THIRD ROW
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Hofmann
qualified 15th and ninth fastest for tomorrow's Dutch TT at
Assen. This afternoon's qualifying session was a major challenge
for both men, Capirossi riding in considerable pain from the
injuries he sustained in last Sunday's turn-one crash at Catalunya,
Hofmann still getting to know the bike and tyres he has inherited
from Sete Gibernau, who broke a collarbone in the same accident.
Capirossi's biggest problem is the chest injuries he sustained
last weekend because excellent upper-body strength is essential
in motorcycle racing. The Italian is struggling despite using
pain-killing therapies and undergoing extensive physiotherapy
at the Clinica Mobile.
Hofmann, who rode the Desmosedici GP6 and its Bridgestone
tyres for the first time yesterday morning, has acquitted
himself well, qualifying on the third row, just three tenths
of a second off row two.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15th fastest, 1m 38.060s
"This is really hard, much harder than I thought it
would be before we came here. I can't breathe normally and
every bump feels like the stab of a knife. I have been given
mesotherapy pain treatment but even that's not enough to take
away the pain from my injured chest. I'd like to thank all
the guys at the Clinica Mobile because they're taking great
care of me and we are so close that they also help me from
a psychological point of view. This is a bad moment for me,
without last Sunday's crash I could have arrived here leading
the championship. It's a real pity I got hurt at the start
of a run of three back-to-back races, but that's racing. Maybe
my determination to never give up is what's getting me through
this. I want to race tomorrow to score some points because
you can win or lose a championship by a single point and there's
still plenty of the season ahead of us."
ALEX HOFMANN, 9th fastest, 1m 37.399s
"Considering the limited time I've had on the bike and
these tyres I'm happy. The team has done a great job and I'd
like to thank everyone for giving me this chance. This afternoon
was my first time on qualifying tyres with this package, so
my goal was to be within one second of pole position and we
managed that. I'm on the third row and the times are really
close, so I'm not far off the best guys. We focused on tyres,
rather than doing too much on set-up. I tried a different
rear and a harder front at the start of this afternoon's session
but they weren't my style, so they didn't do my confidence
any good. After that we went back to the tyres I already knew
and I began to pick up my pace, feeling quite comfortable
on the bike. I think I can do 38s on race tyres. I'm pretty
sure the race will be really good because I will get to know
the bike and tyres better, so I'll find the bit of confidence
I'm missing and my rhythm should be faster."
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"I would like to thank Loris for his unbelievable effort
because we know he is really suffering. We would also like
to thank the Clinica Mobile for looking after him so well.
It's not nice to see Loris in trouble but we know he will
do his best in the race because he is a real lion. Congratulations
to Alex who is doing a great job on Sete's bikes. He was very
consistent today and he went very well on qualifying tyres."
Temperatures: Ambient: 20 degrees. Track: 23 degrees
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