RESULTS BELOW EXPECTATIONS FOR DUCATI IN CHINA
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau
endured a difficult Chinese GP at Shanghai this afternoon,
placing eighth and ninth at the end of a weekend plagued by
changeable weather.
Both men had to be happy with lower results than they had
expected after making poor tyre choices, but they did at least
maintain their World Championship positions, Capirossi still
holding second overall on points, Gibernau still tenth.
With Friday washed out by rain and yesterday afternoon's qualifying
session also interrupted by showers, riders and teams had
little time to choose the correct tyres for today's race,
run in warm and dry conditions. Gibernau had qualified sixth
and ran third for the first few laps but was unable to maintain
that pace, spending much of the race in a sometime hectic
four-way contest for seventh place. Capirossi had qualified
tenth, ran eighth in the early laps, dropped to tenth, then
fought back to eighth, clocking the fourth fastest lap of
the race.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, finished eighth, second overall
"A difficult weekend. We were fast in the wet but we
didn't have enough dry-track time to make the right choice
from all the new tyres that Bridgestone brought here. In warm-up
I used a new front and a new rear, the same I choose for the
race. That rear tyre was okay for the first laps but then
it lost a little, it wasn't the best choice. With more time
we probably would have chosen a different tyre. Anyway, I
scored some points, so I'm still second in the championship
and some of the tracks coming up should be easier for us.
We still have total trust in Bridgestone. As Qatar and Jerez
showed, we can be very strong at tracks where we used to struggle.
We must keep on believing and working hard. I know I can win,
so when the moment comes Sete and I will be up front. We are
ready to fight all the way."
SETE GIBERNAU, finished ninth, tenth overall
"With the weather we've had here and a few problems,
we made a bad tyre choice, it was our mistake. We had a few
troubles over the weekend, then warm-up was bad, just a little
problem, then we went for some tyres that we didn't know.
I couldn't warm up the left side of the rear, it was too hard,
but like I said, it was our choice. I had a bit of a battle
with a few other guys, it got pretty tight at times but it
was all fair, though I was struggling a bit too much to have
fun. Looking ahead to the next few races, we just need to
keep our heads down, keep learning and keep improving."
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
"We must analyse the data to work out why we didn't get
the results we expected. In theory today's warmer weather
should have worked better for us, but we just didn't have
enough time to test everything we needed to test, though,
of course, that was the same for everyone. We need to work
on that so we can be more reactive in the future. This is
a very competitive Championship and we'll do our best to keep
at the front".
Temperatures: Ambient: 31 degrees. Track:
26 degrees
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