MotoGP – Sachsenring – Loris Capirossi is the fastest in the race but finishes ninth

The Ducati Marlboro Team riders were unable to deliver in the race what they promised during the warm-up this morning, having finished with the second and third best times. Loris Capirossi, author of the fastest lap (1'23.708), crossed the finish line of the German Grand Prix in ninth position while Carlos Checa crashed on the fifth lap.
The red flag, displayed following a highside by John Hopkins whose bike remained on the track, forced the riders to have a new starting procedure, followed by a shortened race (25 laps instead of the original 30).
Valentino Rossi was first at the finish line, followed by Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden. The ranking currently sees Loris Capirossi in eighth position and Carlos Checa in tenth.

“After the brilliant performance during the warm-up, where we were second and third, this result in the race is disappointing – said Livio Suppo, head of the Ducati MotoGP project – Carlos had a really good pace but fell on the fifth lap and unfortunately Loris , after setting the fastest lap, was unable to maintain the pace for the rest of the race: a real shame. During this weekend's testing Bridgestone demonstrated that it has done an excellent job which we hope to materialize in Brno."

It seemed that Loris Capirossi could achieve a better finish than ninth place, which still allows him to take home seven points for the Drivers' Ranking, in which he currently ranks eighth.
“At the second start I didn't get off to a great start, but I overtook Nakano and Melandri and was with them – said Loris – Then my steering closed twice, once at the bottom of the downhill corner and the other where I fell yesterday morning. Finally the bike started to move a little behind and I picked up the pace.
Here you are leaning to the left for a very long time and this was exactly what caused me problems. We have made a step forward with the Bridgestones, I am quite satisfied and we have already talked about the needs for the next race. It's a shame that Carlos crashed because he had really good pace in practice. He needs to continue working and today we could have done better, but maybe I would have ruined everything. It would be false to say that we are happy because we try hard and things don't go as we would like. The second half of the season will begin in Brno and it will be time to take the decisive step forward."

At the last corner of the fifth lap, Carlos Checa was pushing to catch a group of riders in front of him when he lost the front of his Desmosedici, ending up on the ground.
“I'm very disappointed because we had worked a lot during the weekend – explained the Spanish rider – Where I crashed, the track is a bit uphill and the asphalt is not perfectly smooth. I braked late and too violently. Then, when I released the brake, I was beyond the limit: the front lost contact with the ground and I fell."

Ducati Press