Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Shinichi Ito qualified ninth and 15th respectively in the single official session at the all-new circuit of Istanbul Park in Turkey, with both riders feeling capable of improving on their qualifying places in real race conditions on Sunday.

Having finished the three previous unofficial qualifying stages in seventh place overall, Checa started the lone hour of qualifying at a high pace, leading the times almost immediately. He dropped back to ninth as qualifying tyres were introduced across the board, but was consistently in the top few places with a race set-up.

Ito, despite not quite setting the qualifying pace he expected, is confident that he can run well in race conditions, after a drama free session for the most part.

"Looking at the times from that qualifying session, Carlos can obviously go fast when everyone is on race tyres, rather than just qualifiers, so we can expect to have a good race tomorrow," said Ducati MotoGP Project Manager Livio Suppo. "Aside from the fastest two, I think he can stay with the top guys. Ito has done a good job so far and it is really nice to see him so full of enthusiasm. Let's hope he can enjoy tomorrow's race."

CHECA SHOWS COMPETITIVE RACE PACE
After posting quick times while testing race set-up Checa feels that he can run with the leading group up front, as he chases another good result after having scored 2 podium finishes in the last 3 races.
"Today was quite good on race tyres," said Checa. "I could not improve my starting position with the qualifying tyres so we will be a little behind at the start. On race tyres we are in good shape and that came through making improvements in the set-up. I will be going out to get a good position right from the start and we will see what happens. A lot of things will be decided by the initial laps but I am feeling much more comfortable than yesterday."

ITO READY TO RACE AFTER POSITIVE SESSIONS
Regular test pilot Ito worked his way through a full programme of testing in the 90 minute morning session, and despite losing his final chance of improving his personal best in qualifying, he knows he will be ready to race on Sunday.
"We improved the settings on the bike in both the morning and afternoon sessions today," said Ito, "and I also found a good race tyre. The setting of the machine and the balance are good so for tomorrow we should be fine in race conditions. I was a little disappointed not to set a faster time because during my final chance to set a fast lap a quicker rider came up behind on the last corner, and I had to go wide to let him through."