Daily Update MotoGP

Ducati Marlboro MotoGP Project Director Livio Suppo has commented on the rumour that former MotoGP riders Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi are being lined up to test the Desmosedici GP8, confirming that the Italian factory are considering such a move.

Ducati Marlboro MotoGP Project Director Livio Suppo has commented on the rumour that former MotoGP riders Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi are being lined up to test the Desmosedici GP8, confirming that the Italian factory are considering such a move.

Both riders currently compete in Superbike racing on Ducati production machinery and could test the MotoGP 800cc prototype on which factory rider Marco Melandri and satellite pair Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli are currently struggling to achieve satisfactory results.

World Championship regulations state that MotoGP teams may only test with their nominated MotoGP riders on tracks that are part of the calendar along with their competitors on specific pre-defined dates, usually after Grands Prix - as seen recently at Jerez and Estoril.

But with only World Champion Casey Stoner able to produce anything resembling competitive lap times at present Ducati are reviewing their private testing options.

Bayliss has ridden for Ducati in MotoGP, whilst Biaggi boasts years of World Championship experience and both could provide crucial test insights to improve matters, with Honda and Yamaha having stepped up their game at the start of the 2008 campaign.

Suppo explained to motogp.com, `It´s not an easy situation to resolve with Marco. We have to try to understand if there is something on the bike that just suits Casey, or if it is just a feeling of Marco´s. The rules don´t allow us to test with the factory riders on the MotoGP circuits, apart from in certain circumstances, so we are thinking about having Max and Troy test the bike, but this is not for sure yet.´

`We have two riders in Superbikes with experience in MotoGP and they have different riding styles. They are both very fast with our Superbike so it could be interesting to have their feedback.´

Suppo also confirmed to motogp.com that Japanese rider Shinichi Ito will temporarily take over Niccolo Canepa´s Bridgestone-Ducati test duties after the Italian rider hurt his foot in a scooter accident.
ref [motogp.com]
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Max Biaggi says he would be happy to test for the Ducati team after revealing he is already in talks with the Italian squad.
Ducati boss Livio Suppo said yesterday that the team are looking for an experienced rider that could help them with the development of their GP8 bike.
MotoGP teams are not allowed to test with their racing riders on championship tracks, except on the day after a race.
Ducati's official tester Vittoriano Guareschi is out of action after injuring himself in a crash during testing at Mugello.

Suppo said they were considering Biaggi and also Troy Bayliss, who last raced for the team in one grand prix in 2006.
Both riders race for Ducati in Superbikes.
Biaggi, who left MotoGP at the end of 2005, is currently racing in Superbikes, but the former 250cc champion admitted he would be willing to work with Ducati.
"If I can help I'll be happy to," the Italian told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I've spoken with Suppo about it, and there's the will to do the test, let's see when and what kind of work they're thinking of. Even a two-day test can be useful.
"Mugello is a selective track, where Ducati have a lot of reference points. And for me it wouldn't be tricky to familiarize again with a MotoGP bike, I don't think it's so different from the ones I used to ride."
Biaggi, however, has ruled out returning to the top category, as speculation increases about Marco Melandri's future at Ducati following a disastrous start to the season.
"I've never thought about it. I'm in Superbikes and I enjoy myself there. I have no regrets about MotoGP," said Biaggi.
Melandri, who has joined Ducati this year, has an 11th place as his best result so far this season.
Suppo admitted Melandri's situation is bad, but he has vowed to help the Italian rider bounce back.
"I don't think it can get any worse, but I don't want to think we won't be able to solve the problem: we are fully confident that Marco can go quick and that the engineers will find the solutions to help him out of this situation."
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World champion Casey Stoner has hit out at the MotoGP organisers after a loose on-board camera marred his Portuguese Grand Prix.

The Ducati rider dropped down to 11th in the early stages as the camera interfered with his control of the bike, before later recovering to sixth place.

"The beginning of the race wasn't so good. I didn't have a good feeling when there was a bit of water," Stoner told Italia1 television.

"Then I started to have a better feeling, but unfortunately we had a problem with a Dorna camera - the box for the video camera was coming out and hitting my hand, and getting stuck in the clutch.

"So I'm very, very disappointed that something from Dorna, the organisers, was the cause of such a disappointment. I'm quite angry."

Stoner explained that he had to reposition the camera every time he reached a straight.

"I didn't know what it was and I was very afraid that the box was coming off and it was something important," he said.

"So I was trying to put it back in, and it would get in-between the steering and sometimes lock the clutch or lock the steering.

"In the end I learned how to ride around it: on each straight I would put the box back in a certain position and try to make it stay there, but the turbulence from the wind would always push the box back out."

After a difficult weekend in which Ducati had struggled for pace in every dry session, Stoner set an encouraging fourth-fastest lap as he came back through the field in the closing stages. He closed in on fifth-placed John Hopkins (Kawasaki) before crossing the line in sixth.

"For sure a better result was possible without this thing," Stoner said.

"We can take this positive from the weekend because it was not a good weekend for us. It was something that was not the fault of the bike, but the fault of the organisation. It was very, very frustrating."


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Rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo has taken his maiden MotoGP victory in his third ever race in the series, the Portuguese Grand Prix.
The Fiat Yamaha rider, who also set a record three consecutive pole positions since his debut, stormed to victory after taking the lead on lap 13 of the 28-lap race, when he first overtook arch-rival Dani Pedrosa for second and then Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, who had been leading since lap three.
The track remained dry throughout the race despite a few drops of rain causing the stewards to show the white flag to the riders on lap three, signalling they could pit to change bikes with wet set-ups.

Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 45:53.089
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) + 1.817
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) + 12.723
4. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) + 17.223
5. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) + 23.752
6. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) + 26.688
7. James Toseland Yamaha (M) + 32.631
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) + 36.382
9. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) + 38.268
10. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) + 39.476
11. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) +1:01.306
12. Toni Elias Ducati (B) +1:03.867
13. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) +1:09.525
14. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) +1:09.634
15. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) +1:11.542
16. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) +1:23.629

Retirements:

Rider Bike Laps
Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 16
Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 15
ref [AS]

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