US GP: Ducati Friday practice one notes

STONER MAKES ANOTHER GREAT START, CAPIROSSI GETTING UP TO SPEED Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner got another great start to the weekend at Laguna Seca this morning, ending the first free practice session fastest. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, fresh ...

STONER MAKES ANOTHER GREAT START, CAPIROSSI GETTING UP TO SPEED

Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner got another great start to the weekend at Laguna Seca this morning, ending the first free practice session fastest. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, fresh from his brilliant podium result at last Sunday's German Grand Prix, was 12th quickest.

In warm Californian sunshine, World Championship leader Stoner was in masterful form around Laguna, a tortuous, undulating and bumpy racetrack that rewards riding finesse and commitment. Capirossi was also quick through the first two sections of the track but needs to refine his GP7's set-up to improve his pace through the crucial final split.

Although the new Laguna track surface is even bumpier than before, the track seems faster, with Stoner's best lap already less than one tenth of a second outside the existing lap record, established in last year's race.

CASEY STONER, fastest, 1m 23.410s

"This morning we had a few difficulties getting used to the track. For sure, the conditions feel a lot worse than they did last year. The surface is maybe a little better but the bumps are worse, the track is really bumpy now. Anyway, about halfway through the session we found a little bit better setting and we just slowly improved from there, and we ended up quite happy with the set-up we've got. This afternoon we will do some more tyre testing in hotter conditions and we'll see where we are. We will work at finding a bit more traction and improving the turning. Overall, we are fairly happy with everything, we just need to test the tyres some more."

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 12th fastest, 1m 24.786s

"Compared to last year the track is still full of bumps but the asphalt is a bit better, even if it's still quite dirty. We are working hard on the bike set-up, because while I'm not so bad in the first two splits I'm quite slow in the third split, above all through the changes of direction. First of all, we need to set up the gearbox better and work on the rear weight balance. But I'm confident because I know we can improve. The tyres are okay, I used the same rear all through the session, and it looked not so bad after 30 laps."