From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DAY 2 OF TESTING FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN SEPANG

DEVELOPMENT WORK CONTINUES FOR THE DESMOSEDICI GP4 IN MALAYSIA

Sepang (Malaysia), 12 February, 2004 – Second day of testing for the Ducati Marlboro Team in Sepang where the new Desmosedici GP4 is continuing its first tests. The Italian squad focussed on development and set-up work on the 2004 bike, and the riders in particular concentrated on the 16.5″ front.

Yesterday’s first day of testing allowed the Bologna-based team to get an idea of the development work carried out for the new season and the new Desmosedici already appears to at a good competitive level. The experience accumulated last year will allow the team to start the new season with optimism.

The weather conditions on this second day of testing at the Malaysian circuit were characterized by searing heat and humidity (air 28-34°/track 35-53°C).

Bayliss devoted the entire day’s testing to obtaining the right set-up with the bike, working in collaboration with Michelin tyre engineers on the new front tyre size. The Australian completed a total of 48 laps, exclusively on race tyres, setting a best time of 2:03.748, quicker than the time he recorded yesterday and in last year’s Malaysian GP.

“We worked hard today, concentrating exclusively on the 16.5″ front” declared Troy at the end of the session. “Yesterday we had a bit of difficulty getting the right feeling with the new front, but things are a lot better today, as you can see by my time. We’ve still got a lot of work to get through, in particular on getting the best set-up for this circuit. I reckon that we still need to make a few small changes to help me feel confident with the front, but we’re almost there.”

Capirossi also focussed on the same objective during the session – gaining confidence with the 16.5″ front. Today Loris completed 48 laps of the Sepang track with a best time of 2:03.914, slightly slower than yesterday’s mark, but a time that confirmed that the team were concentrating more on set-up work rather than the stop-watch.

“I still haven’t been able to find the right feeling with the 16.5″ front” commented Loris. “I didn’t push for a quick time, I just concentrated on tyre work. I am increasingly convinced that the new bike has improved a lot over last year’s Desmosedici, but I’m not entirely satisfied with it yet. We are in an important development stage and we have to find the right configuration to benefit from the new solutions and make progress before the start of the season.”