Pramac Racing riders Randy de Puniet and Loris Capirossi have both admitted they have issues to solve if they are to meet their targets in this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix. The pair finished the day in 12th and 16th respectively but with a second covering 11 riders from sixth backwards, any set-up tweaks could have a dramatic effect on the pecking order.
In FP2, De Puniet improved by over a second from his time in the morning session but feels he needs to take a riskier approach if he is to make further progress.
“This afternoon went much better; this morning I had a problem with corner entry—it was impossible to ride the bike. In the afternoon we made some changes and I was much faster, thanks mainly to the tyres. I finished the first day in twelfth place, but more importantly, I'm very close to the top positions. Tomorrow we'll try to improve. I'll have to push a bit harder in the corners and take a few more chances.”
On the weekend Loris Capirossi announced his retirement, the Italian revealed he is still struggling with shoulder pain, perhaps a significant factor in his decision. Despite the discomfort, Capirossi was still close to his teammate's pace but admits rain may give him the best chance of a good result.
“Despite the progress made compared to the first free-practice session, it's still not enough. I found it very difficult to make right-hand corners, as my shoulder still bothers me and is very painful. Maybe rain would help us in our current conditions, but I'm still convinced that we can do well. We're all close, so just finding a few tenths would move us up several positions.”
