CATALUNYA MOTOGP TEST 03 MARCH
04 March 2006 - Ducati

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN GIVE GP6 FIRST EUROPEAN OUTING

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi gave the Desmosedici GP6 its first European outing at Catalunya today, continuing the good work so far completed in Australia and Malaysia.

In pleasantly mild conditions, with track temperature reaching 27 degrees this afternoon, the pair focused on engine-braking set-up and evaluating Bridgestone''s latest tyres. Also on track here is test rider Vittoriano Guareschi and the Development Team. Gibernau, Capirossi and Guareschi continue testing here over the next two days and on Sunday take part in the officially timed practice session, the traditional hors d''oeuvre to the World Championship which commences at Jerez on March 26.

FILIPPO PREZIOSI, Ducati Corse director
''We''re happy because Bridgestone have made good progress at this track. Today we did a lot of work on the engine-braking system, working with software, that''s why Sete and Loris didn''t get to ride any really fast laps. We hope the good weather continues over the next two days because today''s conditions were better than we had expected for this time of year.''

SETE GIBERNAU, 63 laps, 7th fastest, 1m 44.556s
''We''ve gone through a lot of stuff today, so we are more or less where I thought we''d be. Bridgestone have done a good job here, they''ve brought a lot of different tyres and we''ve found a good direction with both the front and the rear. As far as the bike goes, we''re still working to create a good base set-up. Right now, we don''t have one. We want to create a base here, confirm it during next week''s Jerez tests, then keep it through the year. We ran into a few engine-braking problems today but the team did a good job finding their way out of that. We have a way to go, we''ve got to keep our heads down, but both Bridgestone and the Team are doing a good job.''

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 71 laps, 14th fastest, 1m 45.253s
''Today we worked on a few things, we had to sort a small problem with the engine-braking, that''s why we didn''t go any quicker, because we were concentrating on fixing the engine-braking, rather than working on a bike set-up to that would give us faster lap times. It''s never easy to find a good set-up but we still have two more days here, so I''m happy with what we''ve done so far. Bridgestone have done some good work. Their latest front tyre is a big improvement over what we had here last year. The front is good now and the rear is not so bad, they''ve done well.''

Temperatures: Ambient: 19 degrees. Track: 27 degrees

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