DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON THE PACE AGAIN
23 September 2005 - Ducati Marlboro Team

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa got back to business at Sepang today, just five days after scoring the squad''s best-ever MotoGP result at Motegi, Japan, where Capirossi won a famous victory, Checa finishing just one place off the podium in fourth.

In today''s changeable conditions Capirossi once again proved that the Desmosedici V4 is a front-running motorcycle, the Italian placing third in this morning''s dry session and fourth in this afternoon''s rain-affected outing, while Checa was sixth and 11th.

''We''re happy because Loris was just a few tenths off the fastest guy in both the wet and the dry, which proves once again that the Bridgestones are working well in all conditions,'' said Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. ''This morning''s times weren''t so fast which is normal here because it takes a while to clean the track. If it stays dry for tomorrow the pace will improve a lot and I think we can be up there again.''

CAPIROSSI IN TOP FOUR, WET AND DRY
Loris Capirossi was just 0.178 seconds off pace-setter Sete Gibernau this morning, suggesting that he will be in the hunt for another podium finish in Sunday''s Marlboro Malaysian GP. This afternoon''s session was spoiled by a rain shower but the track quickly began to dry in the 30-plus degree heat.
''Not such a bad day for us,'' smiled Capirossi, still enjoying the glow of his second MotoGP win with the Ducati Marlboro Team. ''So far our package is okay but I think we''ll have to work harder than we did at Motegi, where we had a definite tyre advantage. As ever, Bridgestone are working very hard, they''ve brought four new rears here. I''ve tested two so far, and I''m hoping for dry weather tomorrow so I can test the other two.''

CHECA GETS UP TO SPEED IN CHANGING CONDITIONS
Carlos Checa was less than half a second off the pace this morning, but slightly further adrift this afternoon, when ever-changing conditions rewarded riders who chose the right tyres for the right moment. Like most other riders, the Ducati Marlboro Team man started the session on rain tyres and finished on cut-slicks
''This morning wasn''t so bad, though this track is never so grippy on the first day when we come here to race or to test,'' said the Spaniard. ''The bike felt okay in the dry, though maybe we need a little more stability from the rear tyre. Conditions kept changing this afternoon, which isn''t such a bad thing because the weather is very changeable here, so it''s useful to ride in all conditions - dry, damp and wet. It all depended on what kind of set-up and what kind of tyres you used - on my last run I used a cut slick but I think it was a bit too hard for the conditions, I should''ve used something as bit softer''.

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