Hofmann and Cardoso had so much to do
Thursday was the last of the three days-winter tests that were at SEPANG in Malaysia for the second time.
The two D`ANTIN PRAMAC TEAM riders both went on with their apprenticeship on the DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06 with DUNLOP tyres.
The best time of the German rider, ALEX HOFMANN, has been 2`04``1, though he nearly passed the whole first day in the “Clinica Mobile” because of some problems with his stomach.
The Spanish rider, JOSE LUIS CARDOSO, did 2`04``6. The bad weather has limited a lot the work that the team had to do but anyway there has been improvements and they will now go on hard working in Spain.

Actually, the next three days tests are scheduled on the CATALUNYA circuit from March 3rd to 5th.

ALEX HOFMANN #66:
“Actually, these three days didn`t really go the way we wanted. I was quite unlucky during the first day, I didn`t manage to do more than 15 laps; I had some problems with my stomach that forced me to end the day in the “Clinica Mobile”. On the second day, we lose some time looking for a good set up and we couldn`t test all the things we wanted, also stopped by the rain at mid-afternoon. On the third day, we were ready to start the practice at 9 o`clock but the track was too wet and we had to wait until 11.30. I did two hours test and had a good feeling but then it rained again and we had to stop. At 16.30 I did other 8 laps but it was not enough to test the way we wanted to. The track was slippy, there wasn`t enough grip, but I did my fastest lap (2`04`` 1) in these conditions and I`m quite happy about it because not many riders managed to improve today. Anyway, I`m quite disappointed because these three days were not really successful. We reduced our gap with the first riders and so we did a step in the right direction but there is still a lot to do and we need to keep on working”.

JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30:
“Today the weather conditions weren`t optimal, we had to ride on a quite humid track and I couldn`t do many km. It has been a real pity because we had lots of tests to make on the frame, the suspensions, and especially on the tyres. The bad weather didn`t allow us to work in a good manner. Anyway, during the first day, we did various electronic tests and there has been improvements. I did progresses with my rhythm and sensations but we still are quite far from the first riders and we need to go on working really hard. On the second day, there have been some difficulties but I improved my best time before it began to rain during the afternoon. Now the next practice will be in Spain and we will go on working hard to be ready for the beginning of the season”.

ANDRE LAUGIER - TECHNICAL CHIEF:
“This third day has been quite disappointing because of the bad weather. When we arrived at the circuit, the track was unusable because of the rain that fell during the night, and we couldn`t began the practice until very late in the morning. Then, it also rained again during the day and we had no possibility to make all the km that we needed to test everything we wanted. During the first days, we had some difficulties finding the right set-up, the good directions; but yesterday we did some big changes and everything seemed better. It`s a pity we couldn`t go on working in this way today. We will do it in Spain”.

Tags: cardoso, hofmann, pramac, d-antin,