The Ducati Marlboro Team optimistic for Brno….

THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM OPTIMISTIC FOR BRNO
After the short summer break, during which the very busy team has
also found time to entertain the large audience present at Zandvoort
Marlboro Master in Holland, the Ducati Marlboro Team returns to action this end
week for the tenth round of the championship on the Brno circuit.

The team is very focused, ready to face the final seven races
of the 2003 MotoGP World Championship, the first of which will be the GP
of the Czech Republic scheduled for Sunday. Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss,
who carried out tests in Brno last month, are confident they can fight
again for the top positions. Three weeks ago, the two pilots got
significant results on the tortuous and slow Sachsenring track, confirming
once again the competitiveness of the Ducati Marlboro Desmosedici
Team, fast on any circuit. Capirossi, winner of the Catalunya GP,
is currently in fourth position in the overall championship standings
2003, and precedes teammate Bayliss who rose to the top in Germany
on the podium. These are certainly exciting results, considering that
this is the debut season in MotoGP for the Ducati Marlboro Team.

After Sunday's race, the GP circus will move to Estoril
for Portugal's Marlboro Grand Prix and then leave Europe
heading to Rio, Japan, Malaysia and Australia, before returning to
old continent for the final event of the season, the Gran
Marlboro Award of Valencia, November 2nd.

PRE-RACE TESTS CONFIRM THE SPEED OF THE DESMOSEDICI
The recent German GP once again highlighted the great strength
of the Ducati Marlboro Team. Even though the team had never tested on the track
of the Sachsenring, Troy Bayliss achieved an excellent third place, preceding
his teammate Loris Capirossi, victim of ailments, dropped one position
caused by a violent fall during testing. This continuity of results
instills a lot of confidence in the team for Brno, where Bayliss, Capirossi and the
Desmosedici have already experienced the challenging track
Czech.

In fact, the two drivers were engaged in pre-race tests in Brno last month,
to prepare the set-up of their bikes in view of the GP and test new ones
covers developed by Michelin. Capirossi was incredibly
fast and, despite never having fitted qualifying tyres, he lapped
in 1m 59.54s, a time just above that of the pole position of the
last year at the GP of the Czech Republic. Bayliss, making his debut on the track of
Brno, set his best time just half a second faster,
turning in 2m 00.98s. At the same time, while the Ducati Marlboro Team worked
in Brno, the Ducati MotoGP test team was busy at Mugello,
to test new software components and suspension for 2004: the incredible
he fascinating adventure of Ducati in MotoGP has just begun.

“Loris and Troy were very fast in the tests in Brno,” said the
director of the Ducati Marlboro Team Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant. “The German GP
it went well, we reconfirmed ourselves as the strongest house afterwards
Honda; however, we still have work to do to be at their levels. The
balance of our first GPs can be considered as a glass
half full or half empty, depending on your point of view. Of course, there are a lot of us
happy, but we will never be 100% satisfied until we are at
top. The Moto GP project is just starting for us, we are learning things
new at every race. The bike is fast and powerful, but the most
it's always difficult to find those last tenths of a second that separate us
from the first. However, as is tradition at Ducati, there are great challenges
they provide motivation, and the more demanding the challenge, the greater it is
the motivation!"

The technical director of the Ducati Marlboro Team, Conrad Cecchinelli,
is enthusiastic about the team's performance on the twisty Sachsenring track,
where difficulties in managing the great power of the
Desmosedici, over 220 HP. “The German GP demonstrated that our
motorbike is valid on all circuits, there are no “yes” tracks
and “no” slopes for us,” says Cecchinelli. “Anyway, let's go
in Brno feeling more optimistic than we were before the Sachsenring,
because here we can definitely fight for the podium. Both of ours
drivers already know Brno and we have a good basic setup: in particular
for the gearbox and suspension. For me, Brno is a “real” circuit,
where a good bike and a good rider can go really fast. It's a
smooth track, even if completely different from Assen. We did not have
problems going fast in the tests: we didn't even have to use the tyres
soft. “