Source: motogp.com
Loris Capirossi won the GP de Catalunya in 2003, which the rider now remembers as Ducati’s first-ever victory in the top class.
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‘Barcelona in 2003 was an unbelievable moment. It was the first year for Ducati and that year the bike was certainly very fast, but it was very very difficult to ride because the bike was always ‘moving everywhere’. The good thing about this race was my pace, which was always very constant and I didn’t make any mistakes. In the first part of the race nobody pushed too hard, and everyone was waiting for the last part to race and we just followed on that wave’, began by directing the three-time world champion to the official MotoGP website, before moving on to his main opponents and this one’s error:
– The temperature was very high and we had to do a lot of tire management and that’s when I think Valentino [Rossi] made a mistake and lost concentration. From that moment I knew I had a big advantage because my rival was out but I could come back and that’s why I tried to increase my pace because I knew he could come back and be very fast.
Then Capirossi described the race’s final moments: ‘The team let me know via the pitboard that Valentino was back, and he was about half a second faster than me and in the last three or four laps I tried to push the pace again. and I ended up finishing three or four seconds ahead. I had some fears on the last lap until the end because I knew he was fast and I wanted to hold on to the victory, for myself and for Ducati’.
And he recalled the final party that was made by everyone:‘All the televisions and newspapers were talking about the victory and when I came back to the team there was a big party. For me and for Ducati it was an unforgettable moment’.
Source : https://pt.motorcyclesports.net