CATALUNYA MOTOGP TEST, 04 MARCH
05 March 2006 - Ducati

GIBERNAU IMPROVES, CAPIROSSI RECUPERATES

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi had very different days at Catalunya today. While Gibernau was able to ride 82 laps and improve on his Friday best by 0.772s, Capirossi spent most of the day recuperating from a nasty stomach virus.

In cloudy and slightly cooler conditions, Gibernau was happy with progress, improving the consistency of his Desmosedici GP6 by careful work on set-up and tyres. This allowed him to ride his fastest lap at the end of the day when track conditions were past their best. Capirossi only completed 15 laps after a sleepless night. Despite severe stomach pains he did ride two outings, immediately improving his best time by 0.672s and verifying the front-end geometry adjustments made to his GP6. Test rider Vittoriano Guareschi focused on engine braking to better understand yesterday''s engine-braking issues.

FILIPPO PREZIOSI, Ducati Corse director
''Loris wasn''t able to do much today but he did try different front-end geometry for more high-speed stability. My thanks to him for testing even when he was sick. Sete meanwhile worked his way through many different things. He tried different front-end geometry for more stability and better front feel, plus different rear-shock settings, different handlebars and, of course, different tyres. Most importantly the bike is now more consistent on lap times. We solved our engine-braking problems by going back to the set-up we used at the previous test for Loris, while Sete was able to test some new software which worked to his satisfaction. Loris will try this software tomorrow when we also hope to continue our set-up work because we still have a lot more things to try.''

SETE GIBERNAU, 82 laps, 5th fastest, 1m 43.784s
''Today was a tough, tough day, very physically and mentally demanding but it''s been good. We went through a lot of stuff and I''d like to thank the team and Bridgestone for giving 100 per cent and doing a great job. We are still working hard on the bike, we''ve still a way to go but we''re definitely chipping away. We worked on geometry, electronics, tyres, everything. We are making the whole package better, more predictable, more consistent, and the tyres are giving me more driveability now, which is the whole ballgame.''

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15 laps, 13th fastest, 1m 44.581s
''What a bad day. I didn''t sleep all night, I was sick and had stomach pains, probably because of a virus. This morning the Clinica Mobile put me on a drip, but they advised me not to ride. Anyway, I wanted to test the set-up changes we''d made. I did just two outings and that was enough to realise we had taken the right direction because I faster straight away, even though I''m sick. This is very important for tomorrow. If the dry weather stays and I''m feeling better we will be able to fully exploit our last day here.''

Temperatures: Ambient: 19 degrees. Track: 20 degrees

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