Just a couple of days after the final round of the 2006 season, which ended with a first historic 1-2 win for Ducati in MotoGP, all eyes are now focusing on the future. Today saw the first of two days scheduled testing for the Ducati Marlboro Team at Valencia. Conditions were sunny in the morning and cloudy in the afternoon, with temperatures considerably lower than last Sunday, and this meant that the test session could continue as scheduled from 10am in the morning to 5pm in the afternoon. After achieving his best result this year for Ducati in the top category (3rd overall), Loris Capirossi is now looking forward to 2007 with optimism. The Italian rider, who had already tested the Ducati GP7 immediately after the Brno, Motegi and Estoril rounds, continued engine and suspension development work on the new machine from the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. Loris completed a total of 53 laps, setting a best time of 1m33.11s. Thanks to special dispensation from Lucio Cecchinello, the owner of the team for whom the Ducati Marlboro Team’s new signing, Casey Stoner, raced this year, the Australian was able to get to grips for the first time with the Ducati he will race in next year’s MotoGP World Championship. Stoner immediately established a good feeling with the Desmosedici GP7 and the Bridgestone tyres and set some encouraging times right from the start of the morning. Casey completed 77 laps of the Valencia track, recording a quickest time of 1m33.41s Temperatures: air 25°C / track 32°C