With the second and final day of official MotoGP testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain, track activity for teams and riders in 2018 has now drawn to a close.
After a two-month winter break, the MotoGP teams will meet up again at the start of next year in Malaysia, where the traditional first official session of 2019 will be held from 6th to 8th February with three days of testing scheduled at the Sepang circuit.
The factory Ducati Team rider was once again able to make the most of a pleasant day to bring an end to the development work on the 2019 version of the Desmosedici GP and ended up in eighth place with a lap time of 1’38.292.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th – 1’38.292 (44 laps)
“Luckily I’m OK physically and I didn’t have any problems with my hand, so we were able to carry out all the work programme, which was very important to develop the last aspects of the new material before the winter break. I’m pleased because we were able to understand the differences between the various solutions better than yesterday and we have ended these last two tests of 2018 at Valencia and Jerez with some good feedback. For the first time we have managed to put the 2019-spec bike on track in these end-of-year tests, and for us that’s a very important step forward: our speed is good and I’m very happy with the work we’ve done.”

Day 1 of MotoGP official testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit concluded today at 17.30, after sunny weather and mild temperatures allowed the teams and riders to put in some vital track time in this last round of tests in 2018.
The Ducati Team rider continued development work on the 2019 version of the Desmosedici GP, completing 53 laps and setting good times. Andrea Dovizioso, who crashed at turn 5 towards the end of the session, was just behind in second with a time of 1’38.185. In the evening he went for a check-up with the Clinica Mobile doctors, who diagnosed him with a bruised left thumb, but the Italian rider should be able to go out on track again tomorrow.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 1’38.185 (53 laps)
“Today we were able to do several tests and we were very quick, even on used tyres, and so I’m pleased about that. Unfortunately at the end of the session I crashed at turn 5 while I was improving my time and I hurt my left thumb. Luckily nothing seems to be broken and if the pain is bearable tomorrow I’ll continue with our work load because we still need confirmation on some of the new components.”

Two days of official MotoGP testing marking the start of the 2019 championship season have come to a close at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste (Valencia).
Once again the field of riders could only go out late in the morning, after the track had completely dried out following another night of rain in Valencia.
Andrea Dovizioso focussed his work load on the 2019 version of the Desmosedici GP, obtaining positive feedback, and at the end of the session he was second quickest with a time of 1’30.890.
The MotoGP teams and riders will be back in action next week at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain where the last two days of official testing this year are scheduled for 28 and 29 November.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 57 laps – 1’30.890
“Today went better than yesterday because we were able to do a lot of tests, including back-to-back ones, during which we found some interesting solutions. These were small details and now we want to try them in different conditions and on another track to get some more precise feedback. These two days of tests at Valencia have been very positive and now we will try and confirm the same sensations at Jerez.”

Andrea Dovizioso powered his way to a superb win today in the Valencia Grand Prix, a race held in two parts because of the heavy rain that forced Race Direction to interrupt proceedings on lap 14. At that point the Italian rider had just passed Alex Rins to take the lead, but the grid positions for the restart were based on the previous lap’s classification, so Andrea restarted from the front row between Rins and Rossi for the crucial 14-lapper.
As the lights changed, Dovizioso got the holeshot into the first turn and then held off the attacks from his two rivals. After Rossi crashed out, Andrea administered his lead over the Spanish rider until the flag to take his fourth win of the year (Qatar, Czech Republic, San Marino and Valencia).
The 2019 season gets underway this Tuesday and Wednesday, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, when Danilo Petrucci will team up with Andrea Dovizioso for the first time in the colours of the Ducati Team.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“Today’s was truly a spectacular victory! I have finally managed to win at Valencia, which for me and for Ducati has always been rather a tough track. The first race was very difficult, because Rins started off really strong. I stayed clam however and reeled him in, but Rossi was also recovering and he was very quick so I had to manage the situation while the rain was increasing lap after lap. In the second race we managed to make all the difference because we were able to use a new tyre we hadn’t used in the morning warm-up as well as making a small change to the set-up. I’m really pleased with the way we worked together with the team and to have been able to give them this win, which really helps cheer everyone up. It was a great way to finish the season!”

Andrea Dovizioso will start Sunday’s Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, from the second row of the grid at the Sepang International Circuit. The race will get underway at 13.00 local time (06.00 CET), two hours earlier than scheduled, to avoid the possible risk of torrential rain.
This morning the Ducati Team rider concentrated on trying out various set-up solutions for the race, taking advantage of the dry track and convinced that the time he set yesterday was good enough to send him directly into Q2. When he went out again with the track still damp following a downpour that had delayed the start of the two qualifying sessions, Andrea was further improving his time but he came off at Turn 9 and as a result finished in fifth position with a lap of 2’13.183.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th (2’13.183)
“Today we had to adapt to the different situations that we encountered on the track, both in the morning and the afternoon, and as a result we were unable to try everything we had planned. Both Marquez and Viñales improved their pace and I think that tomorrow there will be a group of riders fighting for the leading positions. In Q2 I made a mistake and crashed on my best lap. We also had to use a front tyre that was too hard, like many other riders, and I entered Turn 9 too quickly and slid onto the grass. Pity because we could have started from the front row, but in any case it was important to be able to lap on the wet asphalt in case it rains tomorrow in the race. In any case I believe we can be competitive both in the dry and the wet.”