MotoGP Official Test - Jerez - Free Practice 1
DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON PACE IN WET & DRY
 Ducati
Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi made
the best of changeable weather conditions at Jerez today,
continuing development work on the Desmosedici GP7. Both men
ran up front in the wet and the dry, Stoner second fastest
overall, Capirossi a close seventh quickest.
This morning's rain did at least allow the Australian and
the Italian to test the 800 for the first time in wet conditions.
The circuit started to dry this afternoon but damp patches
and cool track temperatures (a maximum of 24 degrees) prevented
them from getting close to lap-record pace. Nonetheless the
team is happy that the GP7 seems to have improved since they
tested here last November.
This three-day outing is the final test session before the
2007 MotoGP World Championship commences in Qatar on March
10, so the team hopes for good weather over the next two days.
Casey Stoner, 32 laps - 2nd fastest, 1m 42.634s
"We were competitive in the dry and the wet today but
it wasn't really a useful day for anybody because the weather
was so on and off. We did get some dry time at the end, though
there was still some water around, so we couldn't really get
any good sense from anything and we couldn't use proper tyres
because the track was too cold and wet. When it started drying
out we worked on a problem I've had with the rear-end pumping
when I'm on the gas. We had it here last November and we seemed
to solve it in Phillip Island and Qatar, so if we get decent
weather over the next couple of days we should be able to
get it sorted out. I only got a few laps in the rain, so I
was getting used to the Bridgestone tyres because I've never
ridden them in the wet. I'm very, very happy with the front,
it's similar to the dry, it gives a very good feeling."
Loris Capirossi, 21 laps - 7th fastest, 1m 43.475s
"It's been a strange day with track conditions always
changing. At first we did some laps in the wet and the bike
felt good with rain settings. When the track improved I felt
that the bike works a lot better than it did last November,
when we had a few problems. I'm pretty happy because the GP7
worked well during tests at Sepang, Phillip Island and Qatar,
and if it works well here too that suggests we can be competitive
at all the races. I stopped a bit early today because there
was no point trying to go faster when the track isn't in really
good condition. Tomorrow I plan to do a long run, if conditions
are good enough."
Jerez Official Record : Valentino Rossi (Yamaha - 2005), 1'40.596
Jerez Pole Record : Loris Capirossi (Ducati - 2006), 1'39.064
Temperature: Air 19 ° - Ground 22°
Official lap times Friday 23 February:
1. Marco Melandri (Honda) 1'42.563
2. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1'42.634
3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'42.706
4. Carlos Checa (Honda) 1'43.206
5. Alex Barros (Ducati) 1'43.214
6. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki)1'43.315
7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1'43.475
8. Alex Hoffman (Ducati) 1'43.673
9. Toni Elias (Honda) 1'43.687
10. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1'43.817
11. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1'43.845
12. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1'44.052
13. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1' 44.494
14. Olivier Jaques (Kawasaki) 1'44.659
15. Makoto Tamada (Yamaha) 1'45.081
16. Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha) 1'45.208
17. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati)1'45.603
18. Shinichi Ito (Ducati) 1'59.966 1'45.826
19. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1'45.901
20. Kenny Roberts (KR - Honda) 1'45.937
21. Akiyoshi Kousuke (Suzuki) 1'47.191
22. Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor) 1'47.696
23. Andrew Pitt (Ilmor) 1'49.365
|
