Capirossi content to salvage sixth

The Ducati rider had to switch to his spare bike following mechanical problems, then was blocked by traffic on his qualifying runs.

But in today's race he jumped from 17th to 10th at the start, then made further progress through the race to finish close behind fifth-placed Randy de Puniet

"I think it's not so bad today, but we have to work a little bit harder, because it's not possible (to get a good result) from 17th position," Capirossi told BBC television.

"But anyway I go home with good points. Sixth place is not too bad - I overtook a lot of riders and I fought with a lot of riders. But in the beginning I fought a little bit too much with Marco (Melandri) and I lost a lot of time."

Despite his difficult weekend, Capirossi believes he has continued to make progress with the Ducati, having struggled to adapt his riding style to the 800cc bike in the early rounds. He used an engine tuned to his needs at Mugello, but returned to the more powerful standard unit for Catalunya.

"I have a good feeling again with the bike and the team, and this for sure is good," he said.

"The whole team is working closely with me to try to help with what I need and what Ducati need.

"Ducati made a new engine but we don't use it here because it's not really powerful like we need, but maybe we can use it at the next race."