After the first three overseas races of the season at Losail, Austin and Termas de Rio Hondo, which produced excellent results, Andrea Dovizioso is on the way to Spain, where on Sunday the fourth round of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship will be held at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Andalusia.
Last year Dovizioso, starting sixth on the grid at Jerez, powered into the lead of the GP with a terrific start and then remained in fifth for almost the entire race. The aim of this race is to confirm the GP15’s competitive level, which has already been amply demonstrated at three circuits with totally different characteristics in this early stage of the season.
The Jerez de la Frontera weekend gets underway on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 09.55 CET, while the race is scheduled for 14.00 CET.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 2nd (60 points)

“Jerez is one of the toughest tracks for Ducati and for me, especially because of the heavy tyre wear, but the results of the first three races make me feel optimistic because it seems that the GP15 goes really well at every circuit, which confirms the fact that we are working well. I’m going to Jerez convinced that we can also obtain a good result in this race.”

One week after his second place finish at Austin, Andrea Dovizioso produced another fine performance to repeat the result at Termas de Rio Hondo when he finished runner-up behind winner Rossi in the Argentina GP.
With this result, the 29-year-old from Forlì finished second for the third time in a row in this early part of the season, after putting together a fast and intelligent race. Dovizioso crossed the line in fifth at the end of lap 1 and continued his charge upwards to reach second on lap 8. Three laps later Rossi, who was also working his way to the front, overtook the Ducati Team rider but Dovizioso remained firmly on his tail until the end, and aided by the fact that Marquez crashed, he took the chequered flag in second place.
Thanks to today’s results, Dovizioso remains second overall in the Riders’ standings with 60 points, six behind leader Rossi.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 2nd

“I am really pleased, even more so than in the first two rounds, because this was a very difficult track for us. In practice and qualifying we went quite well but we were not that fast, and managing such a demanding race with the drop in rear tyre performance was very important and rather complicated. Everyone really had to struggle, but once again we managed to get onto the podium. This result means that we are looking really strong, because we are there up at the front even when the conditions are not so much in our favour. I want to thank the team, who are working very well, as well as Ducati who have made a special bike, and I feel very confident about the future because we can only get better.”

On a bright sunny day, with an air temperature of around 26 degrees, the Ducati Team rider took to the track in the morning’s FP3 session, notching up the fourth-quickest time, as a result guaranteeing his passage into the all-important Q2 session.
In the afternoon, following the 30 minutes of FP4 which concluded in fourth, Dovizioso got ready to go out on track shortly after for the second qualifying run, this time decisive for the first four rows of the grid.
On his second run with the medium compound rear tyre, Dovizioso had to settle for sixth place and row 2, with a time of 1’38.520.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 1’38.520 (6th)

“I am satisfied with the work that we have done, because we arrived in FP4 both competitive and fast and we even managed to improve a little. We also did a comparison run of the two front tyres available and in this heat the hard one goes a bit better. In qualifying I was unable to put together a good complete lap, and it’s a pity that I missed out on the front row by so little, but it’s not a big problem. In my opinion it will be a very difficult race because everyone will have to manage their rear tyres, but we are fast and so it will be very important to get a good start. Only in the race will we really see what the pace is, but above all who will manage to be consistent for the whole 25 laps.”

Andrea Dovizioso finished the first two sessions of free practice at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in fifth place.
On a day characterized by cloudy skies and an average temperature of 25° C, the MotoGP field took to the track for first free practice in the morning without managing to set any truly significant times, but Dovizioso ended the 45 minute session on his GP15 machine in third place.
In the afternoon the track conditions improved and the times came down significantly. After several exits with a hard rear tyre, Andrea then fitted medium compound rear tyres and went out to try and improve his time and guarantee himself a place in the top 10.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 1’39.434 (5th)

“I am satisfied because in comparison with last year we have a good pace, and this is very important for me seeing as in 2014 I didn’t go very well all weekend. We improved the bike a bit in the afternoon but we still have to try and find a race pace that allows us to go fast without a drop in performance after a few laps. Here it’s really difficult because this track is very slippery, but we are working to improve this aspect.”

After concluding the opening two rounds of the season with excellent results in both Qatar and at Austin, Desmodovi has now arrived in Argentina, where round 3 of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship will be taking place at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
Dovizioso, who lies in second place in the standings just one point behind leader Rossi, had a few problems at the Argentinean circuit last year and could only finish ninth.
For the Ducati Team rider, the aim in this race will be to confirm the competitive level of the GP15, while continuing development and set-up work on the new project.
The weekend at Termas de Rio Hondo will begin on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 9.55 am (CET 14.55), while the race will be held on Sunday at 4 pm local time (CET 21.00).
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 2nd (40 points)

“Last year I had a difficult race in Argentina, because we had a few technical problems, I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike and the track was very dirty, so the whole weekend didn’t go well. Now however the situation is different, because the GP15 has already reached a good competitive level and I am sure that also at Termas we can fight for the leading positions, like we did in the first two races of this year.”

After second place in the opening round of the 2015 MotoGP season in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso confirmed his current run of good form and the competitiveness of the Ducati Desmosedici GP15 in the Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin, in Texas, where he again finished runner-up. The Ducati Team rider rode an aggressive race, getting the holeshot from the starting grid and leading for the first four laps, before being passed by Marc Marquez who went on to win the race.
Dovizioso was then involved in an exciting battle with Rossi, who passed him on lap 8, but he remained right behind his compatriot, getting past on lap 16 and administering his advantage until the chequered flag. Thanks to this second successive runner-up slot, Dovizioso is now second in the championship, just one point behind Rossi.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd

“Today was a superb race and I take enormous personal satisfaction from it because here at Austin the races are always special: on this circuit you have to administer your energy, your tyres and your pace, something that does not happen in other circuits. I am particularly pleased with the work of my team because on a completely different track from Losail we confirmed that the GP15 is competitive and we managed to improve during the weekend. This year we have already had two great races, but we must continue to work because we’re still lacking a bit of fine-tuning in braking and traction, small improvements that will make the difference when it comes to fighting for the top positions at every circuit.”

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.”

The first day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas, round 2 of the MotoGP World Championship taking place this weekend at the Austin circuit in Texas, ended with the Ducati Team rider – Andrea Dovizioso – in fifth place.

The morning’s FP1 session took place in the pouring rain and Dovizioso was able to top the timesheets, four-tenths quicker than Marc Marquez.
In the afternoon, FP2 began with a still damp track, but during the session the sun dried out the lines and the riders were able to lap on a completely dry surface towards the end. Dovizioso used a soft rear tyre on his final run to set his quickest time, and ended the day fifth.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2’05.646 (5th)

“All things considered today was a positive day, even though the conditions were rather particular. But we are happy because we were quick both in the rain and in the dry. This afternoon the main aim was to stay in the top 10 because tomorrow morning it will probably rain. Unfortunately we were unable to work very much with dry settings, I only did four laps and the feeling with the bike is not good enough yet. We have to improve a few things, both in the wet and in the dry, if we want to fight for the podium tomorrow, but the limits of the bike are pretty similar in the various weather conditions, and so in any case tomorrow we have to work to try and resolve them.”

Following the inaugural race of the MotoGP season in Qatar, in which the Italian Ducati Team rider scored a podium finish, the MotoGP circus is now about to set off on a lengthy overseas trip to the American continent, which will begin in Austin (Texas) and then one week later continue at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, for the second and third rounds of the 2015 championship.
Desmodovi arrives in Texas excited and highly-motivated after his good performance in Qatar, where he was always in the top two positions from start to finish, fighting first with Lorenzo and then with Rossi, and he finished the race in the runner-up slot just 174 thousandths behind the winner.
The Austin weekend will begin Friday morning with the first session of free practice at 09.55 (14.55 GMT), while the race is scheduled for Sunday at 14.00 local time (19.00 GMT).

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)- 2nd (20 points)

“I am very satisfied with my result in Qatar, because I was able to fight for the win right down to the chequered flag with a totally new bike. In 2014 I succeeded in obtaining my first podium with Ducati at Austin, in what was a bit of a strange race, but I really like the Texan track because of its characteristics and I can’t wait to start racing this weekend. I’m very excited and very curious to see how the GP15 will go in the next few circuits!”