DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ‘A TUTTO GAS’. The Ducati Marlboro Team comes home to Italy for some full-throttle action around majestic Mugello, arguably MotoGP’s greatest racetrack. Urged on by Italian oxygen and the cheers of the Ducatisti, the Bologna-based squad is ready to achieve the results that recent events have promised but not delivered. Riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa have both shown impressive speed at various stages during the first four GPs, they just need a little luck to bring them back to the front of the pack. “Both guys are very motivated and confident for the Italian GP,” says Ducati MotoGP project leader Livio Suppo. “We had a good test session at Le Mans after the French GP. We tried tyres that worked really well, with good durability. The weather so far this year has been dreadful – four GPs and three affected by rain – so we are really hoping for four hours of dry practice and then a dry race at Mugello. It would be fantastic to give the 3000 fans in the Ducati Grandstand a great performance!”. Mugello should be a great track for the team’s awesomely quick Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5. The circuit is fast and flowing, the kind of layout that really suits the GP5’s character. “I think the bike is well suited to Mugello,” affirms Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “The track’s dominant features are its fast straight and high-speed chicanes. But it’s a very complete circuit, with uphill and downhill sections, so you need a well-balanced bike. For sure it will be a crazy weekend with all the fans around, but we are looking forward to it.” Of course, the Ducati Marlboro Team can count on the support of thousands of Ducatisti who will throng the hillsides around the high-speed track. There’s even a special Ducati grandstand for 3000 Ducatisti at Correntaio, the 180-degree right-hander that sees riders begin the run back to the final corner. CAPIROSSI – ‘ARRABBIATA IS A REAL THRILL!’ An Italian rider on an Italian bike at an Italian racetrack – all eyes will be on Loris Capirossi at Mugello. But the 32-year-old Ducati Marlboro Team man is used to the pressures of racing in front of his countrymen, this is his 16th Italian Grand Prix. “Mugello is a great track and I still have great memories of 2003, when we finished second on the first Desmosedici,” smiles Capirossi. “I love the track, so does the bike and I’m confident that the Bridgestones will be really good there. Mugello is always a major challenge for riders and engineers, because there is so much to understand. You need a very well-balanced bike, so you have confidence to attack the fast, downhill corners with negative camber and bumps. My favourite part of the circuit is Arrabbiata, especially the final part, because it’s really fast, bumpy and difficult, plus the exit over the brow of the hill is totally blind. When you get it right it’s a real thrill!” Capirossi won the premier-class Italian GP in 2000 and finished second in 2001 and 2003. CHECA – FEELING FAST AND COMFORTABLE Carlos Checa comes to Mugello determined to put a recent run of bad luck behind him. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider has run an impressive pace at the last three GPs but hasn’t been able to show what he can do when it really counts – in the race. “I’ve always really liked the character of the Mugello circuit, and I think it should work well for the Ducati and me,” he says. “The track is very fast and so is the bike! It should go well there, though we’ll be working to improve the way the bike steers through the high-speed changes of direction. This is one area of performance we’ve been working on, though overall the bike is performing really well for me at the moment. I feel really fast and comfortable on it – all I need now is a little luck! We are also working on tyres with Bridgestone, they’re doing a good job, always moving forward. It will be great to race a Ducati in Italy for the first time. I know the fans really get into it at Mugello, so I want a really good result for them and, of course, for Ducati and myself.” Checa has scored one podium finish at Mugello, taking second place in the 2000 Italian GP. THE TRACK Mugello is one of the best events of the MotoGP season – a challenging, high-speed circuit situated in a stunningly beautiful Tuscan valley packed with thousands of enthusiastic fans. And just for good measure, the breathtaking Renaissance city of Florence is just down the road and the whole area is full of great restaurants and trattorias. The track features one of the world’s longest straights, where the fastest bikes exceed 330kmh, giving the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici a chance to really stretch its legs. The fast and flowing circuit is one of the most demanding, with a thrilling blend of high-speed turns, rapid direction changes and plentiful off-camber corners. Mugello’s complexities are further heightened by a bumpy surface, which, combined with numerous adverse-camber corners, makes front-tyre choice particularly crucial. Mugello has been popular ever since it joined the GP calendar full-time in 1991, first as the San Marino round and then as the Italian GP. The circuit hosted its first bike GP in 1976 but only became a regular venue after total refurbishment in the early nineties. Mugello first hosted street races in 1914, when the course ran through local towns and villages. Pole position 2004: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 49.553s Lap record (2004): Sete Gibernau (Honda), 1m 51.133s (169.905kmh/105.574kmh) DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 32 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) GP starts: 220 (50xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Mugello 2004 results: Grid: 8th. Race: 8th CARLOS CHECA Age: 32 (born October 15, 1972) Lives: London, England Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 2 (500) First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500) First GP: Europe, 1993 (125) GP starts: 172 (52xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125) Pole positions: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: Spain, 1998 (500) Mugello 2004 results: Grid: 11th. Race: DNF