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A grey and cloudy sky cast an ominous shadow
over the Jerez circuit at the start of the third and final day of the MotoGP
Official Test, but more strong winds eventually opened the way for an afternoon
of blue skies and bright sunshine drying out the circuit and allowing the riders
to complete their testing programme.
Stoner picked up where he'd left
off on the first day of the test by working on his dry setting and the World
Champion ended the day reflecting positively on the outcome with both race and
qualifying tyres, even though his fastest lap was set when conditions weren't at
their optimum. A small crash midway through the afternoon did nothing to dent
the Australian's satisfaction at a job well done over the three
days.
Melandri continued to work hard with his crew to improve the
feeling with the rear end of his bike although he was unable to find the ideal
setting for this track.
The next appointment for the Ducati Marlboro Team
is a two-day test under floodlights in Doha, Qatar, on the 28th and 29th
February.
Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro
Team), best time: 1.39.845 (57 laps)
"The conditions haven't been
perfect here this weekend but this afternoon the sun came back out and we were
finally able to get some good laps in and work on finding some more grip on the
rear. We had another chassis setting prepared on my second bike but the crash
meant that we weren't able to switch the tyres over and make a direct comparison
so that was a shame. The wind was making it quite difficult in some corners and
it didn't help with the crash but it was just a small front end slide and I was
fine. We were able to continue the test and I tried out a completely new
qualifying tyre. We actually tried it at the wrong time of the day because the
wind was up and I could have gone much faster a little later on but the point of
the test wasn't to set the fastest time but to see if the new qualifier was
better than the previous one, which it was so that was positive. Generally
speaking it has been a very positive test although we have been careful not to
make the setting too specific to this circuit because it is very unique and you
often find that the same setting doesn't work as well anywhere else. Now I'm
really looking forward to going to Qatar, seeing how the bike goes there and
making the final preparations for the start of the season."
Marco Melandri (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time:
1.41.292 (72 laps)
"I can't deny that I was hoping to do better
here but the continual changes in weather and track conditions haven't helped.
At the moment we're struggling to find a good balance for the rear of the bike
so I don't have the confidence to make the most out of the power. This circuit
in particular is also probably not the most favourable for us but we still have
to improve. Hopefully we can do that in Qatar, where a night test will provide
something of the unknown for everybody."
from Ducati Marlboro Press
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