Capirossi, Bayliss choose GP4.

Having tested both the 2003 and 2004 Desmosedicis during the two days at Mugello, factory Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss have decided to race this year's machine in tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix.

Capirossi clocked the eighth fastest time with a GP4 in this afternoon's final qualifying session and was 'happy enough' with the progress made, but he's unlikely to be in a position to repeat his 2003 heroics in tomorrow's main event.

"I'm happy enough because I'm 1.5 seconds faster than I was last year, which proves that we are getting better," he said. "But this is a very high-level championship, the fight is incredibly tough, so even though the bike is improving we still aren't right back at the top."

Bayliss also made significant improvements, shaving 1.4secs off his previous best lap... but when you're fifteenth on the grid that doesn't count for much.

"The 2004 bike I'm riding here is basically the same as we tested at Le Mans a few weeks back," said Troy. "We've moved the weight around a little bit, but it doesn't seem to be working as well as it did at Le Mans.

"I'm struggling with grip, the bike feels low at the back and I'm not getting the feeling I want from the front," he revealed. "But we did make things a little better today. We've got a few little things to try in morning warm-up, then we'll give it everything we've got in the race. The thing at the moment is the pace of the championship - we're getting better but so is everyone else."

"Today was quite a good day for us," insisted team director Livio Suppo. "We are not yet back at the top but we are getting better, step by step, and we will be back.

"Both our riders made good improvements to their lap times today, and Loris' qualifying lap was very good - only 7 tenths off the fastest lap of the day. They both prefer the 2004 machine with which they will race tomorrow," confirmed the Italian.