| BODY { font-family : Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; }
The day following the Grand Prix of Catalunya
gave the MotoGP riders the chance to start a two-day test, with the Ducati
Marlboro Team bringing forward a first outing for the Desmosedici GP9 - which
was originally scheduled for Casey Stoner tomorrow. With uncertain weather
forecasts for tomorrow, Stoner and test riders Vittoriano Guareschi and Niccolò
Canepa put the machine through its paces, whilst Marco Melandri spent the day
focusing on his GP8 and will test it tomorrow.
It was a positive debut
for the machine in the hands of the World Champion, so much so that the
Australian set the best time of the day with a 1'41.533 on qualifying tyres.
CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team)
Best lap on race tyres -
1'42.632; on qualifiers - 1'41.533
"I'm happy with the way today has
gone. The objective was to understand whether this new chassis concept has
potential and I'd say that for now it looks to be the case. We were quickly into
some decent times using the same set-up as the GP8. We barely changed anything
to adapt it to the characteristics of the GP9 and I immediately felt an
improvement so that is positive. I'm sure that with more time to work on it we
can go much faster, although that is not the current brief. We'll have time to
test it in the winter. Tomorrow we'll get back on my GP8 because we have some
important tyre testing to do. There is still a lot of the 2008 season left and
we want to be competitive."
MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team)
Best lap on race times
- 1'44.326
"We have done a lot of tests with the electronics, set-up
and tyres. I've found a rear tyre that gives me a better feeling but we're still
a long way from where we need to be. We still need to find something to get back
to the kind of feeling I had in China."
FILIPPO PREZIOSI General Manager Ducati
Corse
"We took the decision to allow the factory riders to test
the GP9 because it would have been more difficult at a later stage of
development and eventually we'd have had to go backwards in certain areas. There
are some things that are possible to analyse with data such as in the engine or
the cycle part but other areas where it is absolutely essential to have the
riders' opinions. So it was important to get their feedback to understand if the
choices we've made have been the right ones and to get their suggestions. Some
changes we've made to the cycle part could seem more revolutionary than others
but in reality we continue to evolve the initial concept that we designed with
the GP3. So it's not a change in the direction of development, but another step
forward in the same direction. With the 990 the seat supports and the footpegs
were attached to the frame. With the 800 they are both completely separate and
on the GP9 the front part is even more dedicated to support and the dimensions
become more limited. The fact we've used carbon fibre in the production of the
chassis is not the most relevant point, it is more the shape that is different
from before. Casey's first impressions have been positive. Tomorrow Marco will
try it and I hope his feeling with the new bike is better than with the current
one."
Unofficial lap times: 10th June
2008
1. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1:41.533
2. Valentino ROSSI
(Yamaha) 1:41.857
3. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1:42.039
4. James
TOSELAND (Yamaha) 1:42.505
5. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1:42.699
6.
Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:42.721
7. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati)
1:42.755
8. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 1:42.775
9. Chris VERMEULEN
(Suzuki) 1:42.782
10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 1:42.818
11. Colin
EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:43.127
12. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 1:43.197
13. Dani
PEDROSA (Honda) 1:43.552
14. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 1:43.630
15.
Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1:44.326
16. Olivier JACQUE (Kawasaki)
1:44.927
17. Aoki NOBUATSU (Suzuki) 1:45.011
18. Erwan NIGON (Honda)
1:45.603
19. Vittoriano GUARESCHI (Ducati) 1:46.122
|
