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It certainly wasn't an easy Grand Prix of Spain
for the two Ducati Marlboro Team riders at the tricky Jerez circuit but a show
of character and determination. For Casey Stoner, who was never completely
comfortable with the set-up of his GP8 all weekend, his desire to give 100%
combined with a touch of bad luck saw him run into the gravel twice.
After a superb start lifted him to third place on the opening lap, the
World Champion's first off-track excursion came on the third lap and saw him
relegated to last place. By the 22nd lap an exciting fight-back had lifted him
back into the fight for fifth but contact with Nakano at the end of the back
straight led to another trip across the gravel. Stoner again returned to the
track in eleventh and without enough remaining laps to repeat his comeback.
Like in Qatar, Marco Melandri saved his best for the race and set a much
better pace in the second half of the encounter to rise from the very back of
the grid to a twelfth place finish.
CASEY
STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 11th
"Today wasn't my day - I
suppose it wasn't my weekend! We never found the set-up here that would let us
make the most of our potential. Normally braking is one of the strong points of
our bike but here I just didn't have the feeling with the front. I wasn't quite
on the limit when I ran off track the first time but I couldn't get the bike
stopped so it took me by surprise because we weren't doing anything differently.
After that I had to really push to get back into the race and I was pretty happy
once I caught the group. Just when I was passing Nakano he let go of the brakes
and touched my wheel, so I had nowhere to go but the gravel. I think I could
have finished fifth, which I would have been happy with, but instead it was a
bit of a disaster. The tyres weren't perfect but they weren't bad either so I
can't blame it on that. I'm not happy but it's not the end of the world - there
are plenty of other tracks and other races, starting with Portugal, where we
went well last year and finished on the podium, even if we had some little
problems, and where this year we will try to fight for victory."
MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team)
12th
"Today, like in Qatar, we improved in the second half of the
race when the bike improved under braking and on the way into the corners so I
could ride much better. Unfortunately I didn't have the grip on the rear and
that made me lose a lot under acceleration as soon as I went on the gas. This is
my main problem and it is this which we must improve. We knew, however, that
this weekend would be difficult because this track is something of an Achilles
heel for Ducati, with the 800 at least, because with the 990 they won. In any
case we must work and we must continue to improve especially the rear grip".
from Ducati Marlboro racing team
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