Top Six for Bridgestone in Doha Desert Sauna01/10/2005

Bridgestone's impressive run in the flyaway MotoGP races continued today after Carlos Checa claimed his third consecutive top six finish in a scorching hot Qatar GP. Coming into the race on the back of two stunning victories for in-form Ducati rider Loris Capirossi in Japan and Malaysia, Bridgestone made the perfect start to the weekend in search of an incredible hat-trick when the Italian claimed his third consecutive pole position on Friday.

But although today's results didn't reach the dizzy heights of the previous two races in the Far East, Checa praised ridgestone technicians. Tyres flown over from Japan to cope with the hot, sandy and abrasive 5.3km Losail circuit were a significant improvement from those he used at a test at the Middle East venue back in March.

Front tyre stability was the biggest improvement, and rear tyre performance was also improved with a cleaner racing line and extra grip available compared to the 2004 Qatar GP. Spanish rider Checa ended a gruelling 22-lap race, run in baking hot temperatures that peaked close to 40 degrees, just one place ahead of fellow Bridgestone rider Shinya Nakano riding the Kawasaki ZX-RR.

Starting from the second row of the grid, Checa slipped back to eighth position on lap two, but made a quick recovery to pass fast-starting Roberto Rolfo to take seventh on lap three. He moved into sixth place on lap eight after a mistake by Ducati Desmosedici team-mate Loris Capirossi, but unable to make any impression on the leading pack, he then had to keep maximum concentration to keep Nakano at bay. A gusting wind added to the stress of the extreme heat in today's race as Capirossi's recent domination came to an end. The 32-year-old Italian had to settle for 10th position. The Ducati rider made a typical fast start from pole position and led the first lap with world champion Valentino Rossi in the pursuing bunch. Having slipped back to sixth place, an off-track excursion on lap eight dropped him back to 12th position before he fought back to pass Rolfo and Kenny Roberts Junior.

Carlos Checa - Ducati Marlboro Team - 6th position:
"It was a difficult race but I am very satisfied. When we tested here in March we had many problems and limitations with the tyres but it is clear the hard work done by Bridgestone has fixed it. It might not be at the level we wanted it to but it was an acceptable race. Always when you are making improvements at the rate that Bridgestone are it can go up and down. But I am really satisfied with the work made by them for this race. We now have much more experience and information that will be useful  for  the  future  to  make  further  improvements  because  this  was  a  track  where  Bridgestone  has  suffered at  before. Compared to the test we have much more stability and endurance from the front tyre. The rear stability has also improved, but in the race it still wasn't enough. We just didn't find the right combination between stability, endurance and performance. It is never easy and it proved that for us here this weekend. The track was much better than when we raced here last year but not as good as when we tested. It was much less windy at the test and I think that played a part in today's race with some of the problems we had. It was blowing a lot of sand on the track that might have worn the tyres quicker."

Junichi Kawajiri - Motorcycle Racing Tyre Development Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport:
"From a developmental standpoint, I am somewhat satisfied with what we achieved here. Losail was one of the circuits we had the most problems with last year, especially on the front tyre, and we were able to make a big step forward this year in terms of performance and durability. We were able to score another pole position with Loris to make a hat-trick, and this was exciting to see. However in the race, it was made clear that despite our best efforts, we have still some catching up to do against our competitor here. Racing is of course about the results, so we will surely work even harder to achieve better results in Qatar next year. A big thank you to our 3 teams for all their hard work during this weekend, and we will now aim our efforts towards the next race in Phillip Island. "

Bridgestone Results:
6. Carlos Checa (SPA), Ducati 44.05.191, 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 44.06.742 10, Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati,44.18.011. 11 Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, 44.22.504, 17 John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 44.38.818.