Loris
Capirossi continued his great early season form to take
third place in the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix this
afternoon, keeping his name at the top of the
championship table after a strong ride in high winds.
Sete Gibernau overcame his third row start to take an
assured fourth place, and earn his first points of the
year; his first score as a Ducati Marlboro rider.
Part of the
leading group throughout the 22-laps, conserving his
tyres for a late push to ensure third, Capirossi
finished only 1.494 seconds from the winner, Valentino
Rossi. For Gibernau, one particular section of the
circuit proved difficult in race conditions, but still
he improved his qualifying result by three places.
Loris
Capirossi, who was also the race victor in the opening
race of the season at Jerez, now sits on 41 points in
the MotoGP series, in a five-point lead over Nicky
Hayden, second in the race, as well as second overall.
Ducati also continues to lead the Constructors'
Championship, by a single point.
LIVIO SUPPO,
Ducati MotoGP project manager
"I am very happy for the team and for Bridgestone. We were
last here for the race in October, just a few months ago,
and compared with then they have made an unbelievable step
forward. So we must really thank them. Loris rode perfectly
so thanks to him as well. When he is in a good mood he is
incredible! I am very happy for Sete too. After the delusion
of Jerez he kept his nerves under control and made a very
good race. Tomorrow we stay here to test, because we never
stop development. To start the season in such a good way,
and when we see the potential we have, we must work hard to
keep the potential at a high level. I want to thank our
technical partner Shell Advance, for their big support."
LORIS
CAPIROSSI (3rd, 41 points)
"I am very happy and this is a great weekend for the team,
because for sure this circuit was not one of the best for
us. Bridgestone made a good job during the winter tests and
we have made great improvements. For us, this was a
difficult track and last year we had big problems. But this
year we managed to fight for the victory right to the end,
and took a very good result. The first part of the race was
difficult because of the wind, but I adapted my style and
made a good rhythm. Big thanks to everyone in the team and
Ducati Corse.
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Capirossi, the race victor in the opening race of
the season at Jerez, now sits on 41 points, in a
five-point lead over Nicky Hayden, second in the
race as well as second overall. Ducati also
continues to lead the Constructors' Championship, by
a single point. |
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Loris Capirossi continued his great early season
form to take third place in the Qatar Grand Prix,
keeping his name at the top of the championship
table after a strong ride in high winds. |
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As part of a new
commercial tie-up between Ducati Corse and Alfa
Romeo, the MotoGP bikes of Loris Capirossi and Sete
Gibernau are both carrying the Alfa Romeo logo in
this year's series. |
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"This is going to be a very interesting championship and if
we can keep on like this we will be there for the whole
season. I think we are in good shape, and have great
confidence in the bike and the tyres."
SETE GIBERNAU (4th, 13 points)
"I think we did a good job. We
only lost time in the race at the slow hairpin. Right there
I was getting a lot of chatter at the front of my
Desmosedici, and in this one corner I lost half a second. In
all the rest we were OK. Also, on the main straight, I was
moving from side to side in the wind too much, which made it
very physical. But we needed to finish this race and I look
forward to the next one. The wind was the same for everyone
and I would like to say thanks to Bridgestone and Ducati,
they did very well."
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