Capirossi, Suppo at odds on team harmony

Team boss Livio Suppo, however, denied Capirossi's claims and believes the Italian rider is not motivated enough.

Capirossi is in his fifth and last season with the Bologna-based outfit, after it was announced in July that compatriot Marco Melandri will take his place next year.

The Imola-born rider likened learning about said announcement to being stabbed and turned down the team's offer of riding a third bike next season, after he claimed he would not enjoy full factory support.

Capirossi has experienced a dreadful 2007 season so far, with only two podiums to show for in contrast with teammate Casey Stoner's tally of eight victories and an all-but-certain world championship title.

Yesterday's Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril ended in a lowly ninth place for the 34-year-old veteran, who crossed the finish line over 40 seconds behind winner Valentino Rossi and third-placed Stoner.

"Even in difficult times like today I put my maximum effort in, even if the result is small or null, so I'll keep doing that until the end," Capirossi told Italia1 television.

"I've been with Ducati for five years and I'll keep giving it all for them all the way to the last race, that's for sure.

"There's no point hiding, however: the harmony inside the team isn't at its peak, but we'll try to work well nevertheless."

Capirossi's manager Carlo Pernat agrees with his rider and claims that good results are still possible if Ducati work in a certain direction.

"When things don't go well there's no harmony," he said.

"It's clear that what happened with Loris is a negative thing, especially with the way things were done with Melandri. That was perhaps a bit of a psychological blow for Loris. Clearly the harmony in the team goes missing a bit.

"Obviously Ducati are rightly trying to win a championship, so they do the impossible for Stoner and that makes sense. But it's clear that Loris at the moment would need some help, not technical but psychological. A bit more harmony would be useful for everyone.

"Loris has won twice in Japan and once in Malaysia. We'll see what the situation is like: with less tension, and with a certain technical work, Loris can still show what he's capable of.

"That's what we all hope, in order to end this relationship with Ducati in a positive way," concluded Pernat.

But Suppo maintains that the outfit still have a lot of affection for Capirossi and that it should be up to him to motivate the team and ensure there is a serene atmosphere.

"I don't agree with Loris (about the lack of harmony)," Suppo said.

"We are putting our maximum effort to try to understand what's going on, but unfortunately the performance has been lacking since the start of the season.

"Obviously he is particularly demotivated, but nothing's changed for us. The affection for Loris is always the same, his team are killing themselves in trying to turn around his bike 20 times per weekend.

"The atmosphere is usually created by the riders. A serene and calm rider helps the team working at their best. I understand this is a very difficult year for Loris, but maybe his head is already somewhere else. That's understandable, but I don't think there's anything going on.

"I understand Loris from a human aspect: such a disastrous season for him can't make him happy, that's obvious. But the effort from his team has never changed, they're putting everything in it, as they've been affectionate to Loris for many years.

"It's obvious that when things go so badly the rider is the first one being unhappy, but it's also up to him to give us a hand and tell us for example what had happened, instead of going get changed immediately."