DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SET FOR NORTHERN RACES
The Ducati Marlboro Team moves on from the Italian and Catalan
GPs in southern Europe to the British GP and Dutch TT in northern
Europe as the 2007 MotoGP World Championship nears half-distance.
The Bologna-based squad is still buzzing from Casey Stoner's
genius victory at Catalunya on June 10, which increased the
young Australian's points lead. So far this year Stoner has
scored four victories plus a third, a fourth and a fifth,
while team-mate Loris Capirossi has scored one podium. Thanks
to their efforts, the Ducati Marlboro Team currently leads
the teams' championship and Ducati heads the constructors'
series.
Soon after his remarkable ride in Spain, Stoner had another
reason to celebrate -he was presented with an ultra-trick
Bianchi Scrambler XR, from the renowned bicycle manufacturer's
Ducati Corse range, by Bianchi chief Davide Brambilla.
Donington Park is a landmark venue for both riders - Stoner
contested his first roadrace at the track in 2000 and his
first GP there the following July, while Capirossi won his
first GP at Donington in 1990.
LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project director
"If you look at our last two visits to Donington it
seems like it could be a difficult track for us, but then
if you look at how we've performed so far this year, I think
we can maybe be a bit more confident. Bridgestone has done
an amazing job with its tyres so far this season, and the
new tyre rule has really changed the situation. Anyway, we
go there with our usual philosophy - to work hard and see
what happens. The weather could be a factor, of course, but
even if it rains, we know that this year's Bridgestone wets
have performed very well."
CASEY STONER, World Championship leader on 140 points
"We are still learning and going forward, always gaining
experience with the Ducati. After Barcelona we go to Donington
with a positive attitude, it could be a tough track for us
but we've already proved this year that the Ducati is good
at a lot of circuits. I've never really cracked Donington
but we'll see how we can piece it together this time. The
flowing part is tough, down through Craner and into the Old
Hairpin you're braking on the side of the tyres and the bike's
moving around. I find the circuit a little dangerous in some
points, if they improved that it'd probably be more enjoyable.
Some of the other turns are a little bit funny, so it's really
hard to try and compromise the set-up - whether you set it
up for the tight and twisty bits, which are very important
at the end of the race if you're in a battle, or if you set
it up for the faster bits, where you make the time. I'm still
not thinking about the championship, maybe later in the season
we can start aiming for it, but the way we're going now is
just perfect, so we're going to continue doing the same thing."
LORIS CAPIROSSI, 7th overall on 57 points
"We go to Donington feeling quite optimistic, after
a difficult weekend at Barcelona which ended well enough,
thanks to some fantastic support from my team and the people
around me. I have always liked Donington, not only because
it's where I won my first GP in 1990. The circuit is a real
challenge to ride, especially the fast section, from Craner
all the way through to Coppice, though the tighter corners
at the end of the lap aren't so much fun. It is very important
to have good engine characteristics for this track, so we
will probably try the engine spec I used in practice at Mugello.
We think this spec will also help at some of the other upcoming
circuits, like the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca. It is also
important to have good front-end feeling at Donington, you
need that to attack the faster corners, and this is something
we've been improving at the last few races."
THE TRACK
Donington Park is dominated by fast, sweeping corners that
crucially interlink with each other. Through these sections
a fluid riding style and high corner speed are much more important
than brute horsepower. But just to complicate matters, the
Melbourne loop section (added in 1986 to bring the venue up
to minimum GP length) features three dead-stop turns where
last-gasp braking and vicious acceleration are all-important.
Getting a MotoGP machine to work through these two contrasting
segments requires engineers to find a compromise in chassis
settings and tyre choice.
Donington has hosted GPs since 1987, taking over from Silverstone,
which became Britain's World Championship venue after the
notorious Isle of Man TT circuit was deemed too dangerous
for GP racing in the mid-1970s.
DONINGTON PARK DATA
Lap record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 1m 28.714s, 163.253km/h-101.441mph
Pole position 2006: Pedrosa, 1m 27.676s, 165.185km/h-102.641mph
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 34 (born 4 April 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7
GP starts: 255 (85xMotoGP, 59x500, 84x250, 27x125)
GP victories: 28 (6xMotoGP, 2x500, 12x250, 8x125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
Pole positions: 41 (8xMotoGP, 5x500, 23x250, 5x125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Donington 2006 results: Grid: 5th. Race: 9th
CASEY STONER
Age: 21 (born 16 October 16 1985)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7
GP starts: 84 (23xMotoGP, 31x250, 30x125)
GP victories: 11 (4xMotoGP, 5x250, 2x125)
First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125)
First GP: Britain, 2001 (125)
Pole positions: 6 (2xMotoGP, 2x250, 2x125)
First pole: Netherlands, 2003 (125)
Donington 2006 results: Grid: 8th. Race: 4th
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