DUCATI MARLBORO MEN PROVE THEIR METTLE

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss enjoyed inspired rides in today's Marlboro Portuguese Grand Prix, both charging through the field to finish seventh and eighth after difficult starts from the fourth and fifth rows of the grid. Incredibly Capirossi got the holeshot into turn one, using the awesome horsepower of his Desmosedici GP4 to storm past ten bikes in just a few hundred metres, only to get taken out by a rival before lap one was over. He restarted from last but one to take seventh. Bayliss also shone, running tenth during the first laps, then getting the better of two former World Champions to take eighth. "That was a very exciting race for us to watch," said Marlboro Ducati Team directior Livio Suppo. "Loris made an unbelievable start, only for Max (Biaggi) to knock him down, but that's racing. The collision and his return to the track cost Loris a lot of time, but once he got going again he was simply incredible. Of course, it's a pity that he lost so many places in the incident but his comeback showed his spirit as a rider, as well as the improving performance of our bike. Troy also rode a great race, he was faster than he'd been in both qualifying and warm-up, so he put in a great effort today. The weekend could have been better but after the race I think we can look at it in a positive way."

CAPIROSSI MAKES SUPERB RECOVERY AFTER COLLISION

Loris Capirossi may not have made the podium in his 100th premier-class race at cool, blustery Estoril this afternoon, but he did show his incredible determination to overcome. Taking the holeshot from the fourth row of the grid was a remarkable achievement, allowing the Ducati Marlboro Team rider to lead until Max Biaggi rammed him from behind going into the chicane for the first time. Biaggi fell while Capirossi took to the dirt, losing six seconds. He regained the tarmac in 19th place, then embarked on a dazzling recovery to seventh, often lapping within a fraction of a second of the leaders. "I started great, then took some big risks to get into turn one first," he said. "It was a pity that Max tried to pass me so soon - he could have waited for a better place to attack. Once I had regained the track I started my comeback, passing a lot of riders, but the leaders were too far ahead, so I just made sure I maintained my position. My pace was close to the leaders' which proves we are improving the bike, though we still have work to do."

BAYLISS RIDES TOUGH RACE TO TAKE STRONG EIGHTH

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss scored a hard-fought eighth-place finish today, a well-earned improvement on his fifth-row start. The hard-riding Aussie completed the first lap in tenth spot and once he'd got settled in he began moving forward in impressive style, passing former 500 World Champion Kenny Roberts Junior on lap eight and his former World Superbike rival Colin Edwards, himself another former world champ, the very next lap. With ten laps to go Capirossi passed Bayliss and the two were pretty much together from then on, Bayliss finishing 1.5 seconds down on his team-mate. "It was nice to pass a few good guys," said the former World Superbike champion. "Once I got going the race wasn't too bad. The engine cut out for a second on the third lap, though I didn't lose any places. Loris did a great job. After half-distance we ran together for a while. He seemed to have chosen a slightly better rear, so I was losing a bit on him through the final split - the last left and the last right. Towards the end I was just hanging on, so then I thought I should just keep it together because I wasn't in a bad position, so I didn't want to blow it.