Positive end to latest Ducati test with Gibernau at Mugello

Former Ducati World Championship rider Sete Gibernau has spent another three days successfully testing with the Italian brand in hot sunshine, at their main testing venue of Mugello, in the stunning Tuscan countryside.

Gibernau spent time on both the Desmosedici GP8 and GP9 bikes as he continued to familiarise himself with 800cc riding, following a break of more than a year and a half away from MotoGP machinery.

The Barcelona rider undertook numerous four and five lap runs, demonstrating a high level of physical fitness, in view of the difficult climatic conditions, with air temperatures of over 30°C and track temperatures exceeding 50°C. Despite this, the Spanish rider kept up an excellent pace, lapping consistently in the low 1´51 region.

Not having tested on qualifiers Gibernau recorded a best time of 1´50.5 on board the GP8 on race tyres, just a few tenths off this year´s race record at Mugello set by Casey Stoner.

`I want to thank not only Ducati but also all the guys that have supported me here´, Gibernau said on Thursday. `Some of them worked with me in 2006 and it was great to find ourselves together again. I´ve really enjoyed myself today and have had a completely new experience as a rider. The faster you go, the more obvious it becomes that this bike demands a real physical and mental effort, but when you manage to ride it well, the satisfaction is unique.´

`I hope my work has been of use to Filippo, to help understand the differences between the GP8 and GP9,´ he continued. `They are two machines with characteristics typical of Ducati, and the GP9, although new, has great potential.´

`First of all I want to compliment Sete and thank him for the great job he has done here this week,´ stated Filippo Preziosi. `It is always a pleasure to work with an experienced rider like Sete and his feedback will undoubtedly help us. His comments are very similar to those made by Casey and Vittoriano (Guareschi) and this confirms that we are proceeding in the right direction. We will evaluate with him whether there can be other opportunities for him to work with us on track with our bikes. He has certainly demonstrated that he is still able to ride very fast.´

`I hope that this result will also spur on Marco (Melandri) and Toni (Elias). In the last months we have worked hard to improve the GP8 but I think I can now say that it is at a good level and we hope that they too can get the most out of the machine in the coming races.´