Andrea Dovizioso was out on track on Friday at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain for the final test of the year before the traditional two-month ban comes into force. The work mainly revolved around adapting the GP15 to the new Michelin tyres and perfecting the unified software that has been introduced for next season, as well as some modifications to the Desmosedici’s balance in view of 2016.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04), 1’39.7: “The balance is very positive, especially if we compare it to the tests we did after Valencia. Ducati have done a lot of work in these three days. We made steps forward with the balance of the bike and, more importantly, we found a precise direction for development over the next two months. Of course there is still room for improvement from the point of view of the management of the tyres and the electronics, but we gathered a lot of positive feedback to enable us to prepare for the first tests of 2016 in the best possible way.”

These three days of testing at Jerez bring an end to Andrea Dovizioso’s track activities this season. The next time that he go out on track will be from 1 to 3 February 2016 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia at the IRTA tests.

At the end of the second day of the Valencia GP at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, the Ducati Team rider was only able to qualify on row 3, with the ninth time.
Dovizioso finished in eighth place in the morning’s FP3 moving straight into Q2. In afternoon’s FP4, after crashing out at the second lap, he was thirteenth. In Q2 the Ducati rider adopted a three-exit strategy and set his best time on his third run, finishing ninth with a time of 1’31.245.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th (1’31.245)
“Unfortunately my crash in FP4 bothered me a bit and in fact I was unable to push hard in qualifying. I don’t have a great feeling with my bike and when the time came I was unable to be smooth and quick, especially in the middle of the corner, something that is essential for a good time. With a good start tomorrow we can gain some vital positions, even though we’ll probably have to fight for the whole race.”

The first two free practice sessions for the Valencia GP took place today at the Ricardo Tormo circuit at Cheste in warm sunny conditions, and Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso finished the day in seventh place in the combined (FP1 + FP2) standings.
In the morning Dovizioso ended FP1 in fourth place, after setting his best time on a soft rear slick. In the afternoon’s FP2 run, Dovizioso fitted soft rear tyre towards the end of the session, finishing fourteenth, but on combined times they ended the day seventh.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 7th (1’31.642)

“It was a very difficult afternoon in that there was not much grip on the track and it was very difficult to control the bike. I was not able to do even one clean lap, because I made several mistakes which were caused by lack of grip. The rear tyre also showed an odd pressure drop so we now have to try and understand the reason why. In any case we must improve my feeling with the bike for tomorrow and so we’ll be working in that direction.”

Eight months and seventeen races since the start of the championship in Qatar, the MotoGP teams and riders are arriving in Spain for the final round of the season, the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana.
Andrea Dovizioso has taken part in seven MotoGP races, with his best result a third place in 2011. Last year he finished in ninth place after qualifying fourth. Dovizioso is in seventh place with 153 points in the overall standings.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 7th (153 points)
“We are going to Valencia with the firm intention of getting a good result, even though it’s not going to be easy because for the last few races my feeling with the GP15 hasn’t been the same as it was in the early part of the season. In any case I will give my all, as always, because I want to finish this season in the best possible way.”