Several teams stayed over to test at Valencia following completion of the final race of the 2004 season last Sunday. Carlos Checa tried out his new ride for 2005, the Ducati Desmosedici.
Over three days of testing, Checa was very impressive, and showed he is already comfortable with the unfamiliar machine. Posting a best lap time of 1:33.7, Checa was half a second quicker than his fastest lap in the Valencia MotoGP race on Sunday aboard his Yamaha (a 1:34.3), and just two-tenths slower than his best qualifying lap aboard the Yamaha (a 1:33.5). He was also quicker than his new teammate Loris Capirossi during the test.
While Checa never seemed completely comfortable aboard the Yamaha MotoGP machine, he is a very quick rider, and perhaps Ducati has the right chemistry to make him a consistent podium finisher next year.
After a very disappointing 2004, Ducati is known to be aggressively developing it's bike with an eye towards much greater success in the 2005 season. No one races for second place, of course, but Ducati's passionate crew was hugely disappointed with 2004, and will re-double their efforts to develop a winning bike for 2005. Checa and Capirossi will both benefit from those efforts, undoubtedly.
