Qualifying form worries Capirossi

The Italian is happy with his pace in a race situation, but he feels that the team could be hurting their chances of good results during the season if they do not start high enough up the grid.

"There's still a lot of work to do with the qualifying tyres," he said. "For the moment we are unable to get the best out of them.

"We have to work a lot with Bridgestone to avoid starting too far down the grid and risk jeopardising the race."

The Ducati team had mixed fortunes in this week's three-day test at Qatar, but the MotoGP field now has just one more test before the season starts.

Capirossi added: "If we analyse this test, we are quite happy with the situation. We went well at Sepang, Philip Island and here. Jerez will be an important session next week to bring these tests to a conclusion."

Capirossi's teammate Casey Stoner didn't run on qualifying tyres on Thursday, as the Australian cut short his laps due to illness.