Loris Capirossi returns to the track where he had a spectacular crash in
2005 while Sete Gibernau continues his familiarisation with the new
Desmosedici at Phillip Island.
Phillip Island (Australia), Tuesday 31 January 2006 - Five days after
the end of the first 2006 test session at the Sepang circuit in
Malaysia, the Ducati Marlboro Team has now moved to the spectacular
Phillip Island track in Australia for its next test.
Sete Gibernau completed his first laps at the Australian circuit with
the new Desmosedici, while Loris Capirossi returned to the track for the
first time since last October, when his spectacular crash in Australian
GP free practice forced him to miss the next two races. The weather was
cloudy in the morning but the skies cleared up in the afternoon and the
entire day was characterized by the typical blustery conditions of the
island circuit.
Gibernau focussed mainly on chassis and tyre set-up for his Desmosedici
and after reaching a satisfactory feeling the Spanish rider is now
searching for the right set-up to enable him to lap constantly at a
quick pace.
Sete Gibernau (71 laps), best time 1m31.27s;
"Today was dedicated mainly to tyre and chassis settings. On this track
the engine braking is very important and it has to have different
characteristics for the long fast curves and the Honda hairpin. We must
make the most of the remaining two days to find a good compromise that
will allow us to put in a continuous sequence of quick laps. Bridgestone
also has a full programme of work that includes testing new tyres
tomorrow".
Loris Capirossi also put in a lot of laps on a circuit that he
particularly likes, despite the memories of his crash last October.
Loris Capirossi (74 laps), best time 1m31.60s;
"Today we did a lot of work on the set-up of my Desmosedici GP6 and with
the new tyres that Bridgestone brought along: things are going quite
well, but we're still missing something that prevents me from going as
quick as I would like. For sure, this circuit has completely different
characteristics to Sepang, where we were last week and where we have
always been at the top of the timesheets. However we still have two more
days work ahead of us, and we'll use them to find the best possible
set-up".
The Ducati Marlboro Team will continue development work on the new
Desmosedici bike and the tyres at the Phillip Island circuit for two
more days.
