”We can only be happy with this start”The third and final day of testing in Malaysia came to a close today in stifling heat, with Loris Capirossi successfully completing set-up work on his Desmosedici GP7, both on an engine and suspension level and with the tyres.
Loris
in fact completed an eleven-lap race simulation at an excellent pace, similar to his record time set last year.
The Italian ace recorded his quickest time on race tyres, 2m02.146s, on the final lap of his long run, a performance that gave great satisfaction to himself, the Ducati team and to Bridgestone. Like most of his colleagues, Loris then bolted on a qualifying tyre to set the third quickest time of the day.
Casey Stoner opted not to fit the softer tyres but despite still suffering slightly from arm cramp and taking more time than his Italian team-mate to find the right set-up, he recorded a good time on race tyres to positively conclude the three-day session at Sepang. The young Australian is now looking forward to the next tests at his home circuit where he expects to make further progress.
The Ducati MotoGP Team will continue pre-season testing next week in Australia at the Phillip Island circuit from January 30th to February 1st.
Loris Capirossi (61 laps – Qualifying tyre: 2m01.274s, Race tyre: 2m02.146s)
“I am really pleased with the work we've done over the last three days. We have made a big improvement and are now competitive. The fact that I set my best time on race tyres at the end of a long-run of 11 laps means that both the bike and the tyres also go well on this circuit. For the first time we used qualifying tyres with the 800 and I am quite satisfied with my time.
We can see that the GP7 needs different qualifying tyres than the 1000 because you are leaning over longer in the corners and this puts more stress on the soft tyre. Now the Bridgestone guys have got a lot of data to work with and I am sure they will do a good job. We are going to Australia in a confident mood and I can't wait to lap on one of my favourite tracks”.
Casey Stoner (53 laps - Race: 2m02.407s)
“It was a tough day today. We struggled a bit to find the right set-up but got there in the end! We changed the settings a lot and half-way through the day I was a bit confused because we couldn't find the right solution, but the team was great and in the end we solved the problems and found the right direction. Thanks again to the guys from the Clinica Mobile: with their treatment I was able to lap without too much discomfort in my arms. I just felt a bit of pain during my last exit but without them I couldn't have got through the day! Now we're off back home and I can't wait to test the GP7 at Phillip Island!”.
Livio Suppo (MotoGP Project Director)
"We are very pleased with the way these tests went. Everyone did a great job and we are competitive. Special thanks go to Shell, with whom we are working very closely to perfect the fuels and lubricants and improve the efficiency of the engine, which is fundamental in reducing fuel consumption. Today we were able to maintain an excellent pace with the bike always in race trim. It's a great result for the start of the 800cc's development curve and it's all come about thanks to the work of our engineers and Shell's experience in racing. Bridgestone are also doing an excellent job and we can only be happy with this start to the season”.
Ducati Corse
