Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi rode a remarkable race at Brno today, leaving the rest of the MotoGP grid trailing in his wake for his second victory of 2006. The Italian led from start to finish, increasing his advantage at an astonishing rate until he was eighth seconds ahead, he then eased his pace to win by a very comfortable 4.9 seconds. Team-mate Alex Hofmann, subbing for the injured Sete Gibernau, had a more difficult race, finishing 16th.
Today's victory was greeted enthusiastically but it also had his crew wondering what might have been if he hadn't suffered injuries at June's Catalan GP that handicapped him at the next four GPs. Capirossi led the World Championship going into Catalunya and currently lies fifth overall. The Ducati Marlboro Team stays here to test for two days when Capirossi will have his first ride on the team's 2007 bike, the all-new 800cc GP7.
Capirossi's fifth MotoGP victory also makes a little bit of history - the former 125 and 250 World Champion now has the longest winning career in GP history, spanning more than 16 years. Capirossi scored his first victory in the British 125 GP at Donington on August 5 1990.
Loris Capirossi, race winner, 5th overall on 151 points"This has been an unbelievable weekend for me! After Friday morning I wanted to take the plane back to Monaco because the bike wasn't working so well, but after that we did a great job, with strong support from Bridgestone.
"Yesterday I could see my rhythm on race tyres was really good, a little better than everyone else's, so this morning I told my team that my dream was to make a great start, push hard during the first few laps, make a gap and I saw from my pitboard that my advantage was growing bigger and bigger. I would like to say from my heart thanks to the team and all the sponsors who believe in us. Of course, I am also a little upset about my bad luck at Barcelona but the three-week break before this race was a big help, it allowed me to rest and get my fitness back, so I came here feeling 100 per cent.
"I don't want to talk about the world championship yet. I will just do my best at the last five races and we will see, you never know. We stay here to test tomorrow. First we try some new tyres on the GP6, then in the afternoon maybe we try the new 800. I will be like a kid tonight, too excited to sleep!"
Alex Hofmann, finished 16th, 17th overall on 21 points"For sure it didn't help not having much time on my race tyres during practice. In the race I ran into a wall, whatever I did I couldn't improve. Whenever I tried to attack I almost highsided, it was impossible to do more. The race was close, so if you lose just a few tenths a lap you are out of the game. I really wanted to do well here, so I'm disappointed."
Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP project manager"This victory was something we needed, it's great to be back on top. Loris rode an unbelievable race. Now we can't help but think about Barcelona, but we are not out of the championship yet, we know we have some more good tracks coming up, so we will keep fighting. It was a shame that Sete wasn't here because I believe he could have run with Loris. Anyway, a big thanks to Loris, the team, the factory and our technical partners, Shell Advance and Bridgestone, who have worked so hard to bring great tyres here."
Temperatures: Ambient: 24 degrees
Track: 36 degrees
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