Loris Capirossi was pleased simply to have completed the United States Grand Prix as he made his return to racing after a three race layoff. The Italian hasn't ridden in a Grand Prix since crashing in qualifying at Assen and battled bravely at Laguna Seca to finish 12th, albeit a lap down.
Capirossi admitted he had taken a risk by returning on such a challenging circuit but felt his decision was justified by finishing in the points.
“This race was a gamble for me. In Germany I only ridden for a few laps but the shoulder was really too bad. I made the decision to come here and for me the most important thing was to finish the race. We knew it would be difficult because during the test was very hard to ride. The result is bad, but I’m happy because I achieved the goal to finish the race. Now I will try to get back to full fitness in Brno, one of my favourite tracks, because there I really want to prove that we can fight for better positions.”
Technical Director Fabiano Sterlacchini praised Capirossi for racing despite being in obvious pain and hopes he will be even stronger at Brno in three weeks time.
“It has been a very difficult race. We were once again very unfortunate, but we hope that bad luck went away because it would be impossible to go on like this. Loris was very brave, however, until the shoulder has held up he was keeping a good pace. Then, once the pain was too strong, he completed the race without risking further damage to his physical condition. All this shows that he is on the right direction to recovery and we hope to see him in top form at Brno.”
