Andrea Dovizioso produced another outstanding performance for the Ducati Team at Austin, as he powered his Desmosedici GP15 to the second-quickest time in qualifying, just 339 thousandths of a second away from poleman Marquez.
On a cloudy but dry day, Dovizioso finished the morning’s third free practice session (FP3) in eighth place, guaranteeing him direct access to Q2. In the thirty minutes of FP4, the 29-year-old Italian then set third-quickest time behind Marquez and Lorenzo. In Q2, Dovizioso, who went out in the last minutes of the session with a soft compound rear tyre, managed to notch up an excellent pace-setting time of 2’02.474, but he had to settle for second place after being passed by Marquez in the final moments of the session.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2’02.474 (2nd)
“When we get these results, it means that we have certainly been working well. I am very satisfied with the front row position and with my best time, and I’m also happy with the way my team has worked. We managed to improve the feeling a bit in FP4, and this allowed me to be aggressive in qualifying and record a really good time. Here in Texas we’ve had a bit more difficulty than in Qatar, because the Austin track is very unusual and the weather conditions have certainly not helped. Tomorrow it’s not going to be easy, but I have to say that we are competitive and so I think I can do a good race.”