Sete Gibernau gets first taste of the Ducati Desmosedici and Bridgestone tyres in poor weather conditions – Loris Capirossi tests latest version of the engine-braking system used at the start of the year. Valencia (Spain), Wednesday 9 November 2005 – The Ducati Desmosedici took to the track today for its first winter test, just three days after Sunday’s final round of the MotoGP championship. Unfortunately the mild sunny weather that characterized the last race of the 2005 season gave way to cold conditions with several drops of rain that prevented the Ducati Marlboro Team and the other riders on the track from getting close to the times recorded over the weekend. As a result Sete Gibernau’s awaited debut on the Italian bike was conditioned by the weather. The rain that fell late in the morning forced everyone to stop for a break, then after returning to the track in the afternoon Sete completed a total of 32 laps on the ‘standard’ version of the Desmosedici. Gibernau managed to get his first run with the Italian V4 bike as well as with Bridgestone tyres, and despite the poor conditions the Spanish rider was impressed. “Every minute that passes I am more convinced that I made the right decision” declared Sete. “I know that it was a difficult choice to make but this is a great source of motivation for me. The team is fired up and really wants to do well. The first time is always a step into the unknown but I got on well with all the guys. I knew everything was going to be different – the engine, the tubular steel frame instead of aluminium, Bridgestone tyres and Ohlins suspension, and so the feeling on the bike is completely different. I will have to change my style a bit and also the character of the bike to feel entirely at ease with it, but there is a lot of good potential here.” It was also back to work today for Loris Capirossi, whose fitness is slowly but constantly improving. The Italian was scheduled to test with the engine-braking system that had been tried at Jerez during the GP in April and which has been developed throughout the year by official test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi. As the system is still in an experimental phase, Loris, who completed 19 laps, concentrated on providing feedback for future development rather than the search for outright performance. Unfortunately today’s conditions prevented the team from getting the most out of the test, which will continue tomorrow, weather permitting. “My physical condition and the poor weather certainly didn’t help me in this test today” declared Loris. “The system has for sure been improved since the first version we used at the start of the year, but the track wasn’t in an ideal condition to help us understand exactly the development level of the system. Let’s hope the weather improves for tomorrow so we can continue working.” Times: Sete Gibernau: 1m35.2s Loris Capirossi: 1m36.8s