From a press release:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain)
Wednesday 4 December 2002

DUCATI CORSE CONCLUDES THREE-DAY MOTOGP TEST SESSION AT JEREZ

Ducati Corse wrapped up a three-day MotoGP test session at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain today with positive results. Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss were able to put in some consistent laps on the third and final day, which was marked by cloudy but good conditions.

Both riders covered a lot of mileage around the 4.423 km circuit in southern Spain to improve their feeling with the new Ducati Desmosedici after chiefly concentrating on set-up work and Michelin tyre testing.

Loris Capirossi, who again used the traditional firing order version of the Desmosedici engine, completed 62 laps. The 29-year-old Italian was able to define a good set-up for the Spanish track, and consistently lapped under the 1:43 mark. His best time of the day was 1:42.1, a time that would have put him in pole position for last May’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. The result, although excellent, is not distracting the team and the Italian champion however from the massive amount of development work required to get ready for the 2003 MotoGP championship.

Troy Bayliss, who also tested the Desmosedici with the engine in Twin Pulse mode, concentrated on suspension and chassis settings as well as comparative tests between 16.5″ and 17″ front rims. The 33-year-old Australian’s feeling with the difficult Spanish circuit and the greater power of the Desmosedici over the Superbike has improved and Troy was satisfied with the work done over the past three days. Today he completed 62 laps with a best time of 1:44.5.

Corano Cecchinelli, Ducati Corse Track Technical Director, declared: “These have been important tests for us. For the first time we were able to really put the Desmosedici through its paces and we are very satisfied with the times obtained and the reliability of our new engine. We are still in the development phase however and we know that there is a lot more work to do. At Jerez we were competitive with respect to this year’s GP times, and we’re obviously very satisfied with that result, but for sure our rivals have also improved since May so we mustn’t think that we are already in a good position. What we can say however is that the Desmosedici is going well right from the start and doesn’t appear to have any structural problems, and that’s positive.”

Ducati Corse is unable to supply any images or rider comments of Loris Capirossi until the end of 2002.