Bayliss: Things are really taking shape.

Troy Bayliss may have had another luckless weekend at Brno - falling on oil late in the race after slipping back from fourth on the grid to twelfth - but the Australian is confident he can bounce back next weekend at Estoril, after improving his best lap time by a whole second in the post Czech GP tests.

"Things are really taking shape with the bike, we have found a strong direction," claimed Troy. "During the Brno tests we found a set-up that should work well at the circuits from here to the end of the season. For sure if the weather during the Brno race weekend had been better, we would've had a better race.

"I do enjoy riding around Estoril, though it's a funny little circuit," he said of the Portuguese GP venue. "It's got a few off-camber corners, it's quite bumpy coming onto the fast main straight and then it's got that dicky little chicane in the middle of the last section. For sure the suspension work we did at Brno should help. Plus the Twin Pulse motor will be good there because it gives you the feeling for getting on the gas in the slower corners."

Meanwhile, team-mate Loris Capirossi also left the Czech Republic more content with his GP4's set-up and - like Bayliss - believes the benefits found will suit other circuits.

"We tried out many small set-up modifications during the tests that allowed me to lap more than half a second faster than I had during the Brno race," said Capirossi. "Not only that, I was also able to maintain a rapid pace more easily, because the bike is now more comfortable to ride.

"Estoril is a very different kind of track from Brno but we believe that the improvements we've made will benefit us, wherever we go," he revealed. "The track isn't bad, though the first corner is a bit of a joke and the last chicane is really, really tight.

"The straight is long, which helped me to beat Sete (Gibernau) last year. My favourite corner is turn five. This is one of the greatest corners in MotoGP - fourth or fifth gear at maybe 230kmh and then you hook sixth onto the back straight. It's a lot of fun, when you get it right!"

As mentioned by both riders, Estoril is a mass of contrasts - with a 321kmh/200mph main straight, plus the slowest corner in MotoGP (the final chicane, which riders tackle at a pedestrian 60kmh/37mph) and also one of the fastest (turn five, taken at over 220kmh/136mph).

These contrasts demand some compromises in chassis set-up, with riders requiring manoeuvrability in the tight corners and stability in the sweepers. These two characteristics are not mutually exclusive but it takes expert technicians to create a motorcycle that excels in both situations.

"What we look for wherever we go is a suspension set-up that makes the bike easier to handle and more stable, and this is particularly important at Estoril," said Ducati technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. "Normally these two characteristics aren't easy to achieve together but with careful work on suspension it is possible.

"We have made a big step forward with the Twin Pulse engine, now we are matching that engine improvement with an improved suspension set-up that will give us a good base set-up for every racetrack," added the Italian. "Estoril is a very twisty circuit, so rapid steering is very important. It's also a track that we don't know that well - we've only spent three days there in total - though last year we had a good race."

First qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix takes place next Friday.