MotoGP – Laguna Seca Day 1 – Unwell for Capirossi, Checa 10th

Laguna Seca, Friday 8 July 2005 – Team Ducati rider Carlos Checa placed tenth at the end of the two opening free practice sessions of the United States GP. Teammate Loris Capirossi, twelfth at the end of the two hours of practice in the morning, unfortunately ended the day in the Clinica Mobile due to a bad gastrointestinal attack.

“It was a truly unlucky day for Loris because the illness caused him to miss almost the entire afternoon session – said Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo – We all hope that he recovers as soon as possible and that tomorrow he can return to the track in full shape. Carlos, lap after lap, is becoming more and more familiar with the track: he is adjusting the set-up of his bike and is gradually improving. This is not an easy track, however the data collected today will help us improve ahead of the race."

Carlos Checa ended the day with the tenth fastest time, just eight tenths behind the best and immediately behind reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi.
“We changed the balance of the bike with a few simple adjustments – explained Checa – We worked on the front, which didn't give me confidence, and we're trying to make the rear more stable, but it's really difficult to find a good compromise on a track characterized by ups and downs like this. In the afternoon tests we also changed gears and tried many Bridgestone tires. Everything is going well and we are improving, even if for the moment we are not among the leaders. The track doesn't seem particularly dangerous to me, just difficult in some places."

After the two hours of testing in the morning, Loris Capirossi was unable to take advantage of the afternoon session, forced to stop after only 9 laps to go to the Clinica Mobile. Here he was found to have an acute gastrointestinal phenomenon accompanied by hypotensive crisis, nausea, headache and a slight fever.
Loris had felt ill between the morning and afternoon tests, but he still tried to get on track with his Desmosedici GP5.
The cause of the discomfort is yet to be established, probably due to a food problem or a cold.
At the end of the morning's free practice Loris declared himself quite satisfied, still looking for the right set-up of the bike to tackle a beautiful, spectacular but certainly challenging circuit for the powerful MotoGP bikes.

Ducati Press