TOUGH DAY FOR DUCATI
21 July 2006 - Ducati

The Ducati Team had a busy first day at baking-hot Laguna Seca today, riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau ending the first two practice sessions 13th and 14th quickest as they focused on bike set-up and tyre choice.

The pair struggled to find the ideal combination to suit the revised and resurfaced Californian venue where track temperatures reached 50 degrees this afternoon.

Tomorrow they will continue chasing a good race combination in order to give them the best possible chance in Sunday''s United States GP.

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 13th fastest, 1m 25.094s
''We focused on tyres this afternoon and we did find a front tyre that''s better suited to this track but it doesn''t give me a good feeling, so we''re working on bike set-up to get around that. We are also struggling with rear tyre choice, we haven''t yet found the ideal rear, so we''ve got to keep working on that. Overall we''ve made a small step forward since this morning but we are still far from where we want to be, we''re having some problems. This is a strange track, with everyone fairly close on lap times, but we have to work to be more competitive.''

SETE GIBERNAU, 14th fastest, 1m 25.150s
''We are struggling a lot with the front. We are bad on grip and turning, so we can''t stop the bike and get it steered. That''s what we''re fighting at the moment, so we''re working with Bridgestone and with the team to see what we can do. We just have chip away at the problem with the bike and the tyres and see what we can do because right now we''re not where we want to be. My shoulder is a little bit better than last week, which I''m happy about, but it''s still not great.''

Temperatures: Ambient: 29 degrees. Track: 50 degrees

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