Ducati Sepang test notes day two

STRONG FINISH TO SEPANG TEST BY DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM

The Ducati Marlboro Team completed the second and final day of testing at Sepang, Malaysia, today with both riders extremely satisfied with the performance of their Desmosedici GP10 machines. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were both in highly competitive form today, clocking the second and third fastest times of the session respectively.

Like the rest of the riders the pair used the first three hours of the session, from 10am to 1pm, followed by a further two hours from 4pm to 6pm to do the majority of their set-up work. Slightly cooler temperatures at that time of the day compared to the intense early afternoon heat provided the most suitable conditions.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd fastest, 2'00.512 (33 laps)

"When we first went out this morning the track conditions were a huge improvement on yesterday thanks to the slightly cooler temperatures, which meant the track was less slippery. That allowed us to get the best out of the bike and we were able to set some fast times. We started out with the same setting we finished with yesterday, which I already liked, and we changed just a couple of things and were able to immediately set a strong pace. It is just a shame that the red flag came out right after we put the new medium tyre on. I missed out on a few laps because of that but it wasn't a big deal. We are really satisfied with the package we have now and the progress we have made so far. If you ask me I'd say we are starting off from a stronger base than last year so now we'll just have to wait and see if we can get straight on the pace in Qatar."

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd fastest, 2'00.703 (42 laps)

"I am obviously really happy because the changes we made yesterday afternoon that enabled me to go a couple of tenths faster despite the heat have proved to work even better today with the track in improved condition. After making small steps for the last few test sessions today we have finally taken a big leap forward and I was able to ride fast. The arm wasn't too bad but it still isn't as strong as before, which I can feel more than anything in the hard braking, and it was hard work today. Anyway, I am recovering well and now we move on from Sepang feeling really happy."

-source: ducati