2006 MotoGP Season

The 2006 MotoGP Season

2006 was the final season of the 990 era and proved to be one of the best ever. Ducati’s factory team was made up of Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau.

Ducati results:

Capirossi: 3 x 1st place, 5 fastest laps, 2 pole positions, 4 x 2nd place, 1 x 3rd place, 1 x 5th place,
Bayliss: 1 x 1st place (replacement rider)
Gibernau: 3 x 4th place, 2 x 5th place

Overall Ducati took 9 podiums in the season, four of these wins, seeing them finish 3rd in the constructors championship.

Loris Capirossi was voted Rider of the Year by the other MotoGP riders on the grid

Spanish Grand Prix

Loris Capirossi at the press conference after his win at Jerez

Ducati had the perfect start to the season by qualifying first and second at round 1 in Jerez. Loris Capirossi led every lap of the race to start the season in winning fashion on the top step of the podium. Capirossi had a faultless weekend securing pole position, the race win and the fastest lap.

Ducati Result - WIN Loris Capirossi 1st, Sete Gibernau retired

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

26/03/2006

Race

Spanish Grand Prix

Circuit

Jerez

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

"The good thing that I have never had in all my years before is the family feeling in the Ducati garage. Everybody does everything for each other. Just look at the effort we put into Mugello. 1 – 2 on the grid and then a podium position for me after I dropped to 8th after the start. Personally, I have never been so motivated in MotoGP, and I proved that by winning the first race of the year at Jerez before leading the championship after six rounds. "

Loris Capirossi in 2006

Qatar Grand Prix

On his previous visit to Losail, Capirossi had struggled to manage his Bridgestone tyres with the high track temperature but in 2006 it was different and he did a fantastic job to bring the bike home in 2nd place, just 0.9 seconds behind Valentino Rossi who’s Michelin tyres just had the edge. A first and a second from the first two races meant Ducati and Capirossi maintained the lead of the championship.

Ducati Result - PODIUM Loris Capirossi 3rd, Sete Gibernau 4th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

08/04/2006

Race

Qatar Grand Prix

Circuit

Losail

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Turkish Grand Prix

Sete Gibernau qualified in 3rd place with Capirossi in 4th but that was no problem for the Spaniard as during the first lap he overtook Hayden and Vermeulen to take the lead of the race. Gibernau led for 11 laps until his pace dropped off a little and was caught by Melandri and the rest of the field. Capirossi finished 6th.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 6th, Sete Gibernau 11th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

30/04/2006

Race

Turkish Grand Prix

Circuit

Istanbul

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Chinese Grand Prix

Capirossi struggled for pace in China, a circuit that always had it’s quirks for set up, so the best he could manage in qualifying was 10th place, whilst Gibernau qualified in 6th. Capirossi made up a few positions during the race but an 8th place finish behind Melandri was the tally on the outskirts of Shanghai.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 8th, Sete Gibernau 9th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

14/05/2006

Race

Chinese Grand Prix

Circuit

Shanghai

MotoGP Winner

Dani Pedrosa

French Grand Prix

Ducati returned to the podium upon MotoGP’s return to Europe in May where Capirossi fought through the top five places to scored a close 2nd place finish on the very last lap at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. The following round at Mugello saw Ducati again qualify first and 2nd. Capirossi had a poor start and left himself a lot of work to do, he showed unstoppable pace setting the fastest lap and recovering back to 2nd place to put himself back to the top of the championship standings.

Ducati Result - PODIUM Loris Capirossi 2nd, Sete Gibernau 8th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

21/05/2006

Race

French Grand Prix

Circuit

Le Mans

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Italian Grand Prix

The Ducatis were on full song at Mugello taking 1st and 2nd spot in qualifying. Capirossi rode a great race finishing in 2nd place behind Valentino Rossi and taking the fastest lap. After starting first, Gibernau slipped through the pack with the hectic pace at the front to then hold on to a 5th place finish. On race day both Ducatis wore a special Italian flag livery with retro lettering of the Ducati logo to celebrate being at home with the fans.

Ducati Result - PODIUM Loris Capirossi 2nd, Sete Gibernau 5th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

04/06/2006

Race

Italian Grand Prix

Circuit

Mugello

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Catalan Grand Prix

Catalunya was one to forget for Ducati with both bikes being wiped out following a huge first corner accident that had six riders caught up at high speed at the first corner. The crash meant that Sete Gibernau had to sit out the following two rounds due to injury while Capirossi had to miss the Catalan race too.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi DNS , Sete Gibernau DNS

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

18/06/2006

Race

Catalan Grand Prix

Circuit

Catalunya

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Dutch TT

Alex Hoffman replaced Sete Gibernau, recovering from operation following his crash in Catalunya. Capirossi raced but was in severe discomfort with his injuries. The injuries meant that Capirossi was off of the pace but he never gave up and fought through the pain to finish in 15th place. Hoffman finished 12th.

Ducati Result - Alex Hoffman 12th, Loris Capirossi 15th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

24/06/2006

Race

Dutch TT

Circuit

Assen

MotoGP Winner

Nicky Hayden

British Grand Prix

Capirossi, still battered and bruised just three weeks after the Catalan crash was still struggling with injury but very bravely qualified the 250hp Ducati in 5th position around the physically difficult Donington Park circuit. Come race day he was shattered at the flag with 9th.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 9th, Alex Hoffman 13th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

18/06/2006

Race

British Grand Prix

Circuit

Donington

MotoGP Winner

Dani Pedrosa

German Grand Prix

At the Sachsenring, Capirossi again qualified 5th and dropped a couple of places down in 8th on the first lap for this was the hardest of all the circuits to ride while injured. However, by lap 6 Capirossi had worked his way back into the five rider lead group consisting of Rossi, Melandri, Hayden, Pedrosa and the Italian to take that fifth at the flag.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 5th , Sete Gibernau 8th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

16/07/2006

Race

German Grand Prix

Circuit

Sachsenring

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

US Grand Prix

Sete Gibernau

This was one of the hottest race weekends in recent history, with air temperatures of 40 degrees celsius and track temperatures recorded at a record breaking 64 degrees. The combination of the extreme heat and bumpy track proved a challenge for Ducati with their setup leaving the two factory bikes qualifying in 13th and 16th place. Come Sunday they worked hard to finish 8th and 10th, salvaging all of the points that they could from the weekend.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 8th , Sete Gibernau 10th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

23/06/2006

Race

US Grand Prix

Circuit

Laguna Seca

MotoGP Winner

Nicky Hayden

Czech Grand Prix

Capirossi was fully recovered and back with a dominant lights to flag win at Brno, beating Rossi to the line by almost five seconds. The win was Ducati’s first at Brno and also saw Capirossi become the rider with the longest winning career in GP history as his first GP victory came at the 1990 British GP 16 years and 15 days prior.

Ducati Result - WIN Loris Capirossi 1st , Alex Hoffman 16th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

16/07/2006

Race

Czech Grand Prix

Circuit

Brno

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

Malaysian Grand Prix

The Ducatis were back to full fighting strength too at Malaysia for the first of the three ‘flyaway races’ in Asia with Capirossi finishing a close second to Valentino Rossi after a last lap battle for the ages. Loris also took home the fastest lap to complete a good weekend for the team as Gibernau brought the sister Ducati home in 5th place.

Ducati Result - PODIUM Loris Capirossi 2nd, Sete Gibernau 5th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

10/09/2006

Race

Malayasian Grand Prix

Circuit

Sepang

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Australian Grand Prix

Gibernau hadn’t had the smoothest start to the season but he showed his pace at Phillip Island, starting in 12th place and working his way through the pack to the lead of the race for six laps. As is usually the case at Philip Island, it was a photo finish but unfortunately Sete missed out on his first Ducati podium to by less than one tenth of a second, out-dragged to the line by Valentino Rossi.

However this was a land mark race for the sport as it was the first ever ‘flag to flag’ race where riders changed motorcycles mid-race due to the rain that fell. This saw riders able to enter the pits on slick tyres and leave on their spare bike with wet tyres, so the element of gambling of when was the best time to come in and change bikes caught out Capirossi as he finished 7th.

Ducati Result - Sete Gibernau 4th, Loris Capirossi 7th

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

17/09/2006

Race

Australian Grand Prix

Circuit

Philip Island

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Japanese Grand Prix

Japan saw a simply fantastic and historic Ducati performance as Capirossi dominated in practice and qualifying to take pole position and led the race from start to finish. Even under intense pressure from Honda’s Melandri, Capirossi stayed ahead to cross the line over five seconds in front of Rossi and take a full tally of points.

Ducati Result - WIN Loris Capirossi 1st, Sete Gibernau 4th

The race in detail

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

24/09/2006

Race

Japanese Grand Prix

Circuit

Motegi

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

Portugese Grand Prix

Back in Europe at Estoril, Gibernau struck Stoner’s fallen Honda on the very first lap which resulted in him bending a metal plate secured on his collarbone from his injuries earlier in the season leaving the Spaniard to unfortunately never ride a factory Ducati ever again. Capirossi struggled to 12th with dire tyre troubles that saw him slip back through the order from 1/3rd distance.

Ducati Result - Loris Capirossi 12th, Sete Gibernau Retired

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

15/10/2006

Race

Portugese Grand Prix

Circuit

Estoril

MotoGP Winner

Toni Elías

Valencia Grand Prix

Troy Bayliss was chosen to be Gibernau’s wildcard replacement, he had recently won his second World Superbike title but still had a point to prove in MotoGP having not quite taken a victory in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Troy had not even ridden a MotoGP bike for 12 months so many people dismissed his chances of being competitive. However he surprised everybody to qualify in 2nd place, just two tenths behind Rossi. The race saw the most dominant Ducati show of the season as Bayliss took the lead from the start and led to the chequered flag with Capirossi in a close second place to take the first ever Ducati 1-2 finish in MotoGP. With the two factory Ducatis on top of the podium this was the perfect end to one of the most exciting and competitive MotoGP seasons in history.

Ducati Result - WIN & PODIUM Troy Bayliss 1st, Loris Capirossi 2nd

The race in detail

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

29/10/2006

Race

Valencia Grand Prix

Circuit

Valencia

MotoGP Winner

Troy Bayliss

2006 Season Full Results

Ducati results:

Capirossi: 3 x 1st place, 5 fastest laps, 2 pole positions, 4 x 2nd place, 1 x 3rd place, 1 x 5th place,
Bayliss: 1 x 1st place (replacement rider)
Gibernau: 3 x 4th place, 2 x 5th place

Overall Ducati took 9 podiums in the season, four of these wins, seeing them finish 3rd in the constructors championship.

Loris Capirossi was voted Rider of the Year by the other MotoGP riders on the grid

ROUND
RACE DATE
RACE
CIRCUIT
MOTOGP WINNER

Round

Race Date

26/03/2006

Race

Spanish Grand Prix

Circuit

Jerez

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

Round

Race Date

08/04/2006

Race

Qatar Grand Prix

Circuit

Losail

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Round

Race Date

30/04/2006

Race

Turkish Grand Prix

Circuit

Istanbul

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Round

Race Date

14/05/2006

Race

Chinese Grand Prix

Circuit

Shanghai

MotoGP Winner

Dani Pedrosa

Round

Race Date

21/05/2006

Race

French Grand Prix

Circuit

Le Mans

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Round

Race Date

04/06/2006

Race

Italian Grand Prix

Circuit

Mugello

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Round

Race Date

18/06/2006

Race

Catalan Grand Prix

Circuit

Catalunya

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Round

Race Date

24/06/2006

Race

Dutch TT

Circuit

Assen

MotoGP Winner

Nicky Hayden

Round

Race Date

18/06/2006

Race

British Grand Prix

Circuit

Donington

MotoGP Winner

Dani Pedrosa

Round

Race Date

16/07/2006

Race

German Grand Prix

Circuit

Sachsenring

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Round

Race Date

23/06/2006

Race

US Grand Prix

Circuit

Laguna Seca

MotoGP Winner

Nicky Hayden

Round

Race Date

16/07/2006

Race

Czech Grand Prix

Circuit

Brno

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

Round

Race Date

10/09/2006

Race

Malayasian Grand Prix

Circuit

Sepang

MotoGP Winner

Valentino Rossi

Round

Race Date

17/09/2006

Race

Australian Grand Prix

Circuit

Philip Island

MotoGP Winner

Marco Melandri

Round

Race Date

24/09/2006

Race

Japanese Grand Prix

Circuit

Motegi

MotoGP Winner

Loris Capirossi

Round

Race Date

15/10/2006

Race

Portugese Grand Prix

Circuit

Estoril

MotoGP Winner

Toni Elías

Round

Race Date

29/10/2006

Race

Valencia Grand Prix

Circuit

Valencia

MotoGP Winner

Bayliss 1st, Capirossi 2nd