Assen - Race
TOUGH TT FOR DUCATI MARLBORO MEN
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Hofmann
endured a difficult Dutch TT today, Capirossi finishing 15th
while suffering badly from recent injuries, Hofmann taking
a 12th-place finish in his first race on the Desmosedici GP6
after just two days of practice.
Capirossi, who led the World Championship going into last
Sunday's Catalan GP where he was brought down in a nasty turn-one
crash, struggled with agonising chest pains and lack of upper-body
strength. He was rewarded with a single World Championship
point for his brave efforts.
Hofmann, subbing for Sete Gibernau who broke a collarbone
in that same Catalunya accident, lost time during the early
stages of the race but recovered well to finish just 2.5 seconds
outside the top ten.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15th place, 100 points, 3rd overall
"The only positive things to come out of this weekend
are managing to finish the race and score one point. The race
was very, very difficult, the pain in my chest was almost
unbearable but I never gave up and one championship point
could be useful. Racing injured is always terrible, I just
hope I can get better quickly because Donington is only a
few days away. Many thanks to the Clinica Mobile and Dr Costa
because they take great care of me, they've been invaluable
to me here."
ALEX HOFMANN, 12th place, 16 points, 16th overall
"I got a really good start off the line but through the
first two corners I was always where I shouldn't have been
and I lost a lot of places. Then I saw that Loris was close
behind me and after warm-up I thought he could probably do
better lap times than me and also I didn't want to get in
his way, but after he got past I quickly saw that he wasn't
strong enough to push as hard as usual. From lap seven or
eight I picked up my pace and saw the group ahead of me -
Vermeulen, Tamada and Checa - coming closer but the time I
lost early on cost me the chance of going for a top-ten position.
There is still room for improvement but considering the time
I've had on the bike I'm happy enough."
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"It's been a difficult weekend. Loris did his best and
his ride was astonishing because he is suffering a lot. We
have to thank him for never giving up and for believing so
much in this World Championship. Alex did a great job all
weekend. And thanks, as always, to our technical partners
Bridgestone and Shell Advance, whose support is just as vital
through difficult times."
Temperatures: Ambient: 23 degrees. Track: 29 degrees
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