It was a difficult race today at the MotorLand circuit for the rider of the Ducati Team, Andrea Dovizioso, who finished the Aragón GP in eleventh place.
After a positive morning warm-up, in which he finished fourth, Dovizioso got a good start away from the second row and was scrapping in amongst the leading group in the early laps. Unfortunately the Italian started to suffer a drop in front tyre grip and then a worsening vibration on his Desmosedici GP, so had to slow his pace. In the last few laps he lost several positions and finished the fourteenth round of the season in eleventh place.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 11th
“I feel pretty bad about the result today because we worked well throughout the weekend: after a very good Saturday, in which we found a very good race pace, and qualifying on the second row with fourth-quickest time, I was sure that we could have fought for the podium. This morning in the warm-up we confirmed that we were at the same competitive level and we were ready to score a good result in the race. Unfortunately after four laps the front tyre began to lose grip, creating a number of problems, and then I started to feel a strong vibration. Obviously I had to slow down my pace, especially because I was worried about the situation, and I lost a lot of positions in the last few laps. Now we have to try and understand the reasons together with Michelin. The fact remains that we had been working well throughout the weekend and ending the race in eleventh place is really disappointing.”

Andrea Dovizioso set fourth-quickest time in qualifying for the Aragón Grand Prix, and as a result will start from row 2 of the grid for Sunday’s race, which is scheduled to get underway at 1400 CET. This morning the Ducati Team’s Romagna-born rider was eighth-quickest in the aggregate FP1/FP2/FP3 standings and went directly through into Q2 in the afternoon. After taking part in FP4, in which he was seventh-quickest, Dovizioso took to the track for the second qualifying run and he set his best time of 1’47.819 on the first lap of his second exit.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’47.819 (4th)
“I am happy with the work we did today because we were able to make big improvements in my feeling with the bike, allowing me to go well in FP4, which is the session that is closest to the race conditions. We started off with tyres that had already been used in the morning, and even though they were a bit worn, I lapped in a low 1’49” in my last exit, which is very positive. Qualifying went good as well and so I want to thank my team because we’ve worked well throughout the weekend, in a difficult situation seeing as there is very little grip on the track. Row 2 is a good position for the start and tomorrow I will do everything possible to have a good race at this circuit, in particular because in the past I have never been able to get any good results at Aragón.”

Andrea Dovizioso was tenth quickest at the end of the first day of practice for the Aragón Grand Prix, which is taking place this weekend at the modern circuit on the outskirts of Alcañiz. The Ducati Team man finished the morning’s FP1 run in fourth place, but suffered from lack of grip on the track in the afternoon and ended the second session in tenth with a time of 1’49.128.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’49.128 (10th)
“We didn’t go badly in the morning session, but in the afternoon we encountered difficult conditions with very little grip on the track. Now we have to work to find a solution to this problem because it is our biggest limit and it doesn’t allow us to be as quick as we would like, something that conditions my riding and my lines, and above all it doesn’t let us use the set-up we want. We’ll use as reference the last session to work on the data, and I’m confident we’ll find a way to improve tomorrow.”

The Ducati Team rider Andrea Dovizioso finished sixth in the TIM San Marino GP, the thirteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship which was held today at the Misano World Circuit.
Dovizioso, who started from the second row after qualifying sixth quickest, scrapped for fourth place in the opening laps with Marquez, Pedrosa and Viñales. The Italian then crossed the line on lap 11 in sixth place and kept that position until the chequered flag.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 6th
“It’s a pity because today I expected to get a different result in the race. Unfortunately we are still struggling to get the bike to turn like our rivals and as the laps go by this difference increases. To reduce the gap I have to use a lot of energy, push hard on the handlebars and my riding style becomes less smooth and a bit more ragged. To do a consistent lap it’s better that I don’t push hard in the early laps, but we are forced to do so to remain with the leading group.”

Andrea Dovizioso also had a good qualifying run, and he was very satisfied with his race pace at the end of the day. The Romagna-born rider, sixth after the morning’s FP3 session, set the sixth quickest time of 1’32.677 in qualifying and will start from the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 28-lap race.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’32.677 (6th)
“I am pleased with this afternoon’s result, because in the morning, with the cooler temperature, I had lost a bit of feeling. My race pace is really very good even though a lot of us are at a similar level. Tomorrow I expect it to be a tight race and it will be vital to get a good start. I’m sorry about what happened to Andrea Iannone because I know how important it is to race at Misano for an Italian rider, but I am also happy about Michele Pirro’s good performance, he went really well today.”

Andrea Dovizioso finished the first day of free practice action for the TIM San Marino GP in third place today. Racing at his home circuit, the Ducati Team rider set the third quickest time of 1’32.901 in the afternoon after clocking seventh in the FP1 morning run.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’32.901 (3rd)
“I am satisfied with how we worked today, and the fact that in the afternoon we made a good step forward. We started off by doing some tyre and set-up tests and we always improved our times, and this is always important. We are in line with the quickest riders but I think that tomorrow we will have to improve even further, in order to stay with the top guys, and so we’ll focus on these final details.”