Capirossi, 203.9-mph Ducati Fastest On Second Day Of IRTA Tests At Catalunya

Capirossi, 203.9-mph Ducati Fastest On Second Day Of IRTA Tests At Catalunya

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Loris Capirossi put the new Ducati Desmosedici on top on the second day of IRTA team tests at Catalunya, winning a BMW car in the process.

John Hopkins was the fastest American in the times for the BMW Award.

BMW Award times follow.

IRTA Team Tests
Lap Times
BMW Award
Catalunya, Spain
March 16

1. Loris Capirossi, Italy, Ducati, 1:43.634
2. Alex Barros, Brazil, Yamaha, 1:44.154
3. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Honda, 1:44.324
4. Max Biaggi, Italy, Honda, 1:44.326
5. Tohru Ukawa, Japan, Honda, 1:44.487
6. Daijiro Kato, Japan, Honda, 1:44.496
7. Sete Gibernau, Spain, Honda, 1:44.655
8. Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha, 1:44.922
9. Carlos Checa, Spain, Yamaha, 1:44.992
10. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:45.076
11. Shinya Nakano, Japan, Yamaha, 1:45.108
12. Olivier Jacque, France, Yamaha, 1:45.263
13. John Hopkins, USA, Suzuki, 1:45.624
14. Nicky Hayden, USA, Honda, 1:45.626
15. Jeremy McWilliams, UK, Proton, 1:45.709
16. Norick Abe, Japan, Yamaha, 1:45.887
17. Garry McCoy, Australia, Kawasaki, 1:45.961
18. Nobuatsu Aoki, Japan, Proton, 1:46.034
19. Alex Hofmann, Germany, Kawasaki, 1:46.125
20. Kenny Roberts, USA, Suzuki, 1:46.552
21. Andrew Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, 1:46.586
22. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki, 1:47.498
23. Makoto Tamada, Japan, Honda, 1:47.529
24. Chris Burns, UK, Harris WCM, 1:47.928
25. Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia, 1:48.023

DNS, Colin Edwards, USA, Aprilia, crash.
DNS, Shinichi Itoh, Japan, Honda, crash.

IRTA Team Tests
Top Speeds
Catalunya, Spain
March 16

1. Capirossi, Ducati, 328.2 kph, 203.9 mph
2. Bayliss, Ducati, 322.8 kph, 200.6 mph
3. Rossi, Honda, 320.9 kph, 199.4 mph
4. Kato, Honda, 320.7 kph, 199.3 mph
5. Ukawa, Honda, 320.5 kph, 199.2 mph
6. Nakano, Yamaha, 319.8 kph, 198.7 mph
7. Hayden, Honda, 317.6 kph, 197.4 mph
8. Biaggi, Honda, 316.5 kph, 196.7 mph
9. Checa, Yamaha, 316.2 kph, 196.5 mph
10. Abe, Yamaha, 315.2 kph, 195.9 mph
11. Hopkins, Suzuki, 314.9 kph, 195.7 mph
12. Barros, Yamaha, 314.9 kph, 195.7 mph
13. Gibernau, Honda, 314.7 kph, 195.6 mph
14. Melandri, Yamaha, 314.7 kph, 195.6 mph
15. Jacque, Yamaha, 314.1 kph, 195.2 mph
16. Tamada, Honda, 312.2 kph
17. Roberts, Suzuki, 310.6 kph
18. Itoh, Honda, 309.6 kph
19. Pitt, Kawasaki, 309.0 kph
20. Haga, Aprilia, 308.6 kph
21. Yanagawa, Kawasaki, 306.6 kph
22. McCoy, Kawasaki, 306.1 kph
23. Hofmann, Kawasaki, 306.0 kph
24. Burns, Harris WCM, 295.5 kph
25. McWilliams, Proton, 289.4 kph
26. Aoki, Proton, 288.2 kph

After issuing the above times headlined “BMW Award–2033 MotoGP Best Qualifier,” MotoGP timing & scoring then released another set of times headlined “Official Combined Practice Time.” This second set of times shows Nicky Hayden as fastest American, and follows:

1. Capirossi, 1:43.634
2. Ukawa, 1:43.832
3. Barros, 1:43.878
4. Gibernau, 1:44.071
5. Rossi, 1:44.111
6. Kato, 1:44.111
7. Biaggi, 1:44.326
8. Nakano, 1:44.803
9. Bayliss, 1:44.893
10. Melandri, 1:44.922
11. Checa, 1:44.992
12. Jacque, 1:45.263
13. Hayden, 1:45.533
14. Hopkins, 1:45.624
15. McWilliams, 1:45.709
16. Haga, 1:45.755
17. Tamada, 1:45.817
18. Abe, 1:45.858
19. Roberts, 1:45.956
20. McCoy, 1:45.961
21. Aoki, 1:46.034
22. Hofmann, 1:46.125
23. Edwards, 1:46.296
24. Itoh, 1:46.401
25. Pitt, 1:46.586
26. Yanagawa, 1:46.893
27. Burns, 1:47.928

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

AWESOME CAPIROSSI TOPS CATALUNYA TESTS

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi topped this afternoon’s official preseason test session at Catalunya in sensational style, outpacing his nearest rival by almost a quarter of a second aboard the Italian factory’s all-new Desmosedici. Team-mate Troy Bayliss was also in brilliant form, bettering yesterday’s times by 1.81 seconds in his first visit to this complex Spanish track.

Capirossi’s astonishing pace – 1.96 seconds inside the track record – underlined the remarkable progress made by Ducati since the start of the Desmosedici MotoGP project. The bike has yet to turn a wheel in anger but has already shown that it should be a real force once the 2003 MotoGP season starts in Japan on April 6. Today the machine also broke its own record for the fastest-ever top-speed figure in GP racing, tripping the Catalunya speed trap at 328.2kmh/203.9mph.

“We weren’t really expecting this so soon!” smiled Ducati Corse managing director Claudio Domenicali. “And while we don’t anticipate being so competitive, so soon at every circuit, this does prove that Ducati has the capability to start a new project from scratch and reach a high level very quickly – all our engineers should be very proud. Of course, Loris also made a big difference today, and we found a perfect set-up for the bike, which really suits the high-speed nature of this track.”

Capirossi – whose spectacular best lap was watched on live TV by millions of bike-race fans around the world – was ecstatic with his performance. “I’m so happy, I really wanted that, so I rode 110 per cent!” beamed the Italian who had earlier suffered a minor fall, when an oil pipe split and leaked oil onto the rear tyre. “My fastest lap was hot – I went into a few corners a bit too fast but the bike still turned, no problem.”

Generous Capirossi immediately donated his BMW sports car – the prize for today’s fastest rider – to his mechanics, who will sell the vehicle and split the proceeds amongst themselves. “My mechanics have worked so hard for this, so they deserve it,” he added. “But we have a long season ahead of us, and a lot more work to do.”

MotoGP newcomer Bayliss ended the time one-hour session tenth and satisfied with progress. “This is my first time here so I just eased myself into it, did a lot of laps and things came good, so I’m happy, and I’m happy for Loris too!” said the Aussie. “We’ve been working on the same thing as always – making the bike go faster around the racetrack! And hopefully we can keep making progress in the run-up to Suzuka.”

Despite the mood of euphoria in the Ducati Marlboro Team pit, technical director Corrado Cecchinelli was keen to focus on the task ahead. “Now we have the highest top speed and the best lap time,” he said. “But you have to remember – you only get points for races! That was an incredible lap from Loris – with the bike in race set-up with an average fuel load and the same tyres as all the other Michelin riders. We let him focus on riding today, rather than set-up, so he could get comfortable for the timed session.”

The Ducati Marlboro Team now returns to Italy to prepare for the big trip to Suzuka, where Capirossi and Bayliss will test alongside their rivals on March 30 and 31.

More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

PROTON RIDERS POLISH UP THEIR SKILLS

Circuit of Catalunya, Barcelona – March 16, 2003: Proton Team KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki concentrated on getting themselves back up to racing speed at this weekend’s group tests at the Catalunya GP circuit at Montmelo, riding last year’s three-cylinder 500cc lightweight – the only two-stroke left in the MotoGP field.

It was a holding operation for the pair, who are eagerly awaiting the team’s own brand new 990cc four-stroke, a V5 design that is undergoing intensive development at base at Banbury in England. Even so, they were faster than a number of four-strokes, with McWilliams placed mid-pack.

Even without the new bike, team and riders had reason to be pleased with this weekend’s tests. Both McWilliams and Aoki improved on the lap times they had set at the GP here last year in spite of cool track conditions. This reflected not only refinement to the machine during last season, but also significant improvements to the Bridgestone tyres, which Proton Team KR will use for a second season in 2003.

The first GP of the season is the Japanese round at Suzuka on April 6.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS: 15th Position – 1:45.709
It’s frustrating with all the four-strokes. Both of us have gone quicker than ever before round here – but the gap to the leaders is even bigger. It’s been hard to stay upbeat. It was easier when we couldn’t see the other bikes. The main thing is that the new bike is on the way, and it’s very exciting. I have tried it for size, and it’s really compact – about the same size as the two-stroke. This weekend was hard, but we have a lot to look forward to.

NOBUATSU AOKI: 21st Position – 1:46.034
It’s a difficult start to the year, but I think we did a good job. We improved half a second on the GP times, and that’s good enough. It’s good to be out on a race track again, and it will be even better when we can start developing the new bike.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
Of course being the only two-stroke is frustrating, but I was pleasantly surprised to see our guys so far up. It must be even more frustrating for the four-stroke riders who were slower than us. We came because we needed to get our riders some track time, and we were also able to find some more information for Bridgestone.

The V5 four-stroke is undergoing dyno tests, and it’s very promising. All the major components are performing well, and we’re working on details. Unless there is a major hiccup, we expect to have the bike out somewhere for first rolling shakedown tests, with Jeremy riding, and probably Kenny Roberts as well, and then begin serious track tests.

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