planetearth
There Can Be Only One
Number of posts : 3271
Registration date : 2007-02-03
 |  Subject: 'Capirossi: I don't have many seasons left.'  Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:02 pm | |
| - Quote :
- 33-year-old Loris Capirossi knows time is running out to add a MotoGP title to his 125 and 250cc crowns - making 2007 'so important' to the popular Italian.
"This year is so important for me because I know I don't have too many more seasons in me, maybe one, maybe two, maybe more, I'm not sure," shrugged Loris. "So I am more determined than ever to do my best and the first race is very important."
Capirossi won three races last season, one more than eventual champion Nicky Hayden, but injuries sustained at Catalunya effectively ended his title hopes.
It is difficult to predict if the switch from 990 to 800cc machines will help or hinder Capirossi and Ducati in their battle against the Japanese giants, but pre-season testing suggests that the Bridgestone-shod GP7 will be competitive at a larger range of circuits than ever before - albeit with some advantage lost at previous 'favourite' tracks.
Last season at Qatar, Capirossi qualified second and finished third - and he won't be surprised if he repeats that finishing position on Saturday.
"It is great that we were able to test at Qatar only a few weeks ago. We made some good preparations during those tests with some good long runs, so I think we are ready to fight for the podium at this race," declared the #65. "The track is okay for our style of bike and tyres. The big thing you really need for this race is good feeling from the front tyre, so we've had to work very hard on that for Qatar. You also need good agility for all the direction changes - and the GP7 is more agile than last year's GP6."
Capirossi was beaten to pole last year by a certain Casey Stoner, who stunned the MotoGP paddock by taking the top grid spot on only his second premier-class appearance. The Australian returns one-year wiser and as Capirossi's factory Ducati team-mate - he could well spring another surprise this weekend.
"I couldn't be happier with the team, everyone gets on great and the bike has got better and better at every track we've been to," claimed Casey. "It's looking very competitive and the tyres are looking great as well. The tests we did at Qatar last month were very positive, so I'm feeling quite confident going into this race. I've had some good races in the past there, so it could be good for us. We were okay with tyres in the test, we ran a good race pace. The only thing with Qatar is the track surface, it can be pretty changeable, one day the track is fast, the next day it can be slow. It's not the most exciting track, it's very flat, with not enough camber on the corners, and most of it is average corners flowing together. It can be good for racing though, you normally get a nice little battle up front".
"It's good to finally go racing after a long winter of testing," added Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. "We start the season at a track where we recently had some pretty good tests, so we are quite confident that we can have a good first race. This season is going to be really tough for everyone involved in MotoGP, it's the biggest season ever, the new 800s are really fast and there's a lot of guys going very, very quick, already quicker than the 990s at some tracks. Our aim is to be in the front group from the very beginning." Crash.net | |
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