DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM, ASSEN (HOLLAND) SATURDAY 24 JUNE 2006, RACE
25 June 2006 - Ducati Marlboro Team

TOUGH TT FOR DUCATI MARLBORO MEN

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Alex Hofmann endured a difficult Dutch TT today, Capirossi finishing 15th while suffering badly from recent injuries, Hofmann taking a 12th-place finish in his first race on the Desmosedici GP6 after just two days of practice.

Capirossi, who led the World Championship going into last Sunday''s Catalan GP where he was brought down in a nasty turn-one crash, struggled with agonising chest pains and lack of upper-body strength. He was rewarded with a single World Championship point for his brave efforts.

Hofmann, subbing for Sete Gibernau who broke a collarbone in that same Catalunya accident, lost time during the early stages of the race but recovered well to finish just 2.5 seconds outside the top ten.
LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15th place, 100 points, 3rd overall
''The only positive things to come out of this weekend are managing to finish the race and score one point. The race was very, very difficult, the pain in my chest was almost unbearable but I never gave up and one championship point could be useful. Racing injured is always terrible, I just hope I can get better quickly because Donington is only a few days away. Many thanks to the Clinica Mobile and Dr Costa because they take great care of me, they''ve been invaluable to me here.''

ALEX HOFMANN, 12th place, 16 points, 16th overall
''I got a really good start off the line but through the first two corners I was always where I shouldn''t have been and I lost a lot of places. Then I saw that Loris was close behind me and after warm-up I thought he could probably do better lap times than me and also I didn''t want to get in his way, but after he got past I quickly saw that he wasn''t strong enough to push as hard as usual. From lap seven or eight I picked up my pace and saw the group ahead of me - Vermeulen, Tamada and Checa - coming closer but the time I lost early on cost me the chance of going for a top-ten position. There is still room for improvement but considering the time I''ve had on the bike I''m happy enough.''

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager
''It''s been a difficult weekend. Loris did his best and his ride was astonishing because he is suffering a lot. We have to thank him for never giving up and for believing so much in this World Championship. Alex did a great job all weekend. And thanks, as always, to our technical partners Bridgestone and Shell Advance, whose support is just as vital through difficult times.''

Temperatures: Ambient: 23 degrees. Track: 29 degrees

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