Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa are raring
to go racing next weekend after a long winter of testing and development
work. The pair has covered thousands of kilometres at tracks in Europe,
the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia, working to make sure
their Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5s performs at their best
throughout the 2005 MotoGP World Championship, from Sunday's
season-opening Marlboro Spanish GP, all the way through to the 17th and
final race in November.
Capirossi and Checa have enjoyed some success during winter testing.
Capirossi topped the time charts twice - at Valencia last November and
at Sepang in January - proving that he is full of fight. Checa meanwhile
set the pace at Jerez last November but had to miss last month's final
Jerez tests after sustaining a shoulder injury at Catalunya.
Both men are confident in the performance of the 2005 Ducati Marlboro
Team Desmosedici GP5, the latest version of the immensely powerful V4
which roared onto the World Championship scene in 2003, taking its first
pole position at Jerez and its first victory at Catalunya. The 2004 bike
took longer to get up to speed but was a real force by the end of last
season, scoring podium finishes at the final two races and taking a new
lap record at the Australian GP.
During the winter Ducati Marlboro Team engineers have worked closely
with their technical partners, including Bridgestone and Shell Advance,
to build on that progress and create a totally balanced machine for
2005. The big red Duke is already one of the most awesome machines in
MotoGP, producing more than 230 horsepower and capable of exceeding
330kmh.
"Our off-season testing has gone very well, we're in much better shape
than we were at the start of last season," says Ducati Marlboro Team
MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. "The factory and the team have
worked hard this winter and I think we've done a good job. The bike has
improved in many areas, but while the most difficult thing to achieve at
this level of performance is overall balance, I think this year's
machine is a very balanced package.
"Both our riders have done many thousands of kilometres of testing, now
they finally get to do what they love doing - racing! Loris has shown
his speed throughout the winter, he is definitely ready to race. Carlos
has also been very fast during testing. It was a real shame he missed
our most recent Jerez session but he went very well when we tested there
last November, so I don't think missing the tests should be a problem
for him".
Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli has been
working with Capirossi and Checa throughout the winter and knows exactly
what is required for this vital season-opening GP. "There are some fast
corners at Jerez and riders need a lot of confidence to attack these
turns," he says. "Plus they need good power delivery because you use a
lot of gas through these corners. Riders also need big confidence in the
front end so they can attack the turns. The track is a good mix - it's
got no long straights but plenty of fast turns and some hairpins, so you
need a well balanced bike."
CAPIROSSI UP FOR FIRST JEREZ MotoGP PODIUM
Hard to believe, but Loris Capirossi commences his 16th World
Championship season at Jerez this weekend, which means the 32-year old
has spent exactly half his life on the GP circuit! And, maybe even
harder to believe, the evergreen Italian will be going for his first
premier-class podium at the track. Although Capirossi has been racing at
Jerez since 1990 he has only scored three podiums at the track (in 125s
and 250s, including a 250 win in 1998).
"I like the track a lot, but there have been times when I've not had so
much luck at Jerez," says Capirossi, the second most experienced rider
on the MotoGP grid, after Alex Barros. "Jerez is a very interesting
track for the rider - there are a lot of fast corners and the circuit is
very up and down, so you have to deal with changing camber. But the best
thing about Jerez is the fans - they are really into the racing and they
make a lot of noise! Most of all I'm just really happy to be racing
again this weekend. We have worked hard all through the winter, working
towards the racing season. The bike is much better than the first part
of last year, much more balanced, and I'm impressed with the work
Bridgestone is doing. The qualifying tyres I tested at Jerez a few days
ago were excellent, the rear race tyres were also good and even the
fronts worked well."
CHECA SHOULD BE 100 PER CENT FIT
Carlos Checa had enjoyed some impressive winter tests until he took part
in last month's session at Catalunya. The Ducati Marlboro Team's newest
signing had been fastest at Jerez last November and in the top three at
Valencia and Phillip Island, but he fell at Catalunya, suffering a
dislocated left shoulder and a badly bruised left calf. The shoulder
injury forced him to miss final testing at Jerez but the Spaniard
believes he should be fully fit for the season-opening GP.
"The crash was a big impact but I've been able to recover quite
quickly," says 'El Toro', who has been undergoing intensive
physiotherapy in a Barcelona clinic. "I could even have taken part in
the Jerez tests but the doctors and physios recommended that I should
not, because it would probably aggravate the shoulder injury. Now the
shoulder has had plenty of rest, so I should be 100 per cent fit for the
first race."
Despite this setback Checa is full of confidence after some promising
performances at other tracks. "The bike worked well at Jerez, Valencia,
Phillip Island and Sepang," he adds. "The only places where I wasn't
really happy were Losail and Catalunya. Overall the bike is at a good
level but we need a bit more from it to fight for the win. We need to
work on chassis performance, especially in slow corners, and Ducati has
some ideas to give us what we need. The first race is in Spain so this
is a very big weekend for me - my first race for Ducati and in front of
my home crowd. I think we should be close to being right on the pace, I
can't wait."
THE TRACK;
Jerez is one of the most popular events on the MotoGP calendar,
regularly attracting weekend crowds in excess of 200,000. Constructed in
1986, the track hosted its first Grand Prix the following year and has
remained on the World Championship calendar ever since. But this is the
first time that Jerez has hosted a season-opening GP.
Most riders love the Andalucian venue because it's a track that can
reward real rider talent over pure machine performance. Many of the
circuit's 13 corners flow into one another, placing the emphasis on
smooth, neat riding and stable, all-round machine performance. The
circuit character places particular emphasis on front-tyre grip, though
the many slow-speed turns also require MotoGP riders to control
wheelspin as they power out of the corners. Three years ago the track
underwent resurfacing and total reconstruction of its infrastructure.
- JEREZ: 4.423km/2.748 miles
- Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1m 42.788s, 154.909kmh/96.256mph
(2003)
- Pole position 2004: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 40.818s
