Andrea Dovizioso and his team concluded tonight the official MotoGP pre-season tests at Losail (Qatar). In the three-day test, which is crucial to define the technical base ahead of the opening round of the Championship, scheduled for March 8-10 on the track on the outskirts of Doha, the Italian rider made the most of the available track time to work on the development of the Desmosedici GP19, completing 132 laps.
The Ducati factory rider tried first and foremost to optimize the setup for the race, a work that culminated today in another joint race simulation with his team mate Danilo Petrucci in light of the interesting data yielded by this method during the first tests of 2019 in Malaysia. With a personal best of 1:55.205, Dovizioso closed in 15th position.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:55.205 (15th)
“This closing day was complicated a bit by the wind, which didn’t allow to completely follow our program. We focused on some aspects and, while we’re not far from our rivals, there is still room for improvement. Honestly I can’t say I’m completely satisfied, but I’m also convinced we have strong potential and I’m confident we can have a strong race. We collected plenty of interesting data and it will be important to make the most of it to make sure we’re as ready and competitive as possible in two weeks’ time.”

The Mission Winnow Ducati team resumed action at Losail (Qatar) to move forward with the development of the Desmosedici GP19 in the last MotoGP tests before the season opener, scheduled for March 8-10 on the track near Doha. In the second of three days, Andrea Dovizioso made the most of the track time available to push hard from the very first laps to draw comparisons and further define the technical base.
Dovizioso showed progress, taking three tenths of a second off his previous best to post a 1:55.205. The Italian, who finished the session in 8th position 0.252 seconds behind his teammate with 53 laps completed, also did a simulation to cover the race distance in two consecutive exits at the time scheduled for the Grand Prix and was able to run further comparisons with the new aerodynamic profile (which was first evaluated two weeks ago at Sepang) with positive feedback.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:55.205 (8th)
“If we look at the lap times, today they probably don’t reveal too much: many riders worked esclusively for the upcoming race, but what matters the most is that my feeling with the bike is good. Today, as we had previously done in Malaysia, we did a race simulation split into two runs. It’s a very important task ahead of the opening race, even if it will unfold in slightly different conditions, and it allowed to gather interesting feedback even though it’s still difficult to gauge the true potential of our opponents. I think we’re working well and methodically, and tomorrow we’ll continue to focus on some details to find more ways to further improve.”

Two weeks after a successful debut on track at the first official MotoGP tests at Sepang (Malaysia), the Mission Winnow Ducati rider resumed action at Losail (Qatar) for the second and final pre-season test. The opening session, characterized by outside temperatures around 20 degrees, allowed the team to resume its all-around development program on engine, chassis, electronics, aerodynamics and tyres to further define the base ahead of the fast approaching season opener.
Andrea Dovizioso was able to show their speed right from the start, constantly riding within the top five and posting his fastest laps at the time scheduled for the race, without using the softer tyre compound available. Dovizioso clocked 29 laps, the fastest of which in 1:55.550, finishing the session in third position.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:55.550 (3rd)
“I’m happy with our progress on this opening day. We immediately found a good feeling with the track, which didn’t have much rubber on it but was quite clean, and we managed to post competitive lap times right from the start. We’re all quite close, so the rankings should not be taken into too much account, but what matters is that the feeling with the bike is good. We ticked all the boxes in our program, trying a couple of new solutions and giving a clear feedback to our engineers. Tomorrow we’ll evaluate different things, but in the meantime we can be happy with the work done today.”

Andrea Dovizioso archived the first official MotoGP tests of 2019 at Sepang (Malaysia). In the third and last session, all riders tried to set their fastest time in the morning – with cooler temperatures and, consequently, faster track conditions – and Andrea Dovizioso were able to break the previous, unofficial best lap (1:58.830). Dovizioso finished in fourth position, with a personal best of 1:58.538, 0.299 seconds behind his teammate with 36 laps to his tally. The riders also tried a new fairing with a different aerodynamic profile, giving positive feedback.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:58.538 (4th)
“All in all, this test has been positive. It was important to push to the limit again today because we only have another test before the season starts, and we managed to post a competitive time even on a flying lap after being really consistent in yesterday’s race simulation. Also, to see so many Ducati bikes at the front confirms that we have a good base. We also tried a new fairing, with positive feedback. It’s still early to draw conclusions, but I’m happy with the work done here and now we’ll look for more ways to improve ahead of Qatar.”

The Mission Winnow Ducati rider moved forward with its all-around development program at Sepang (Malaysia) in the second of a three-day official MotoGP test.
In hot weather conditions, with more than 30 degrees in the atmosphere and 60 on the tarmac, Andrea Dovizioso clocked 60 lap, including two “long runs” apiece to cover the race distance in the hottest time of the day. Dovizioso ended the day in fourth position with a personal best of 1:59.562, more than half a second faster than his personal best yesterday.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04, Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:59.562 (4th)
“It’s been a really positive day, and I’m very happy with the way we’re working, which allowed us to gather plenty of interesting data. Today, we focused on some areas in which we struggled a bit in the past, finding good solutions. Instead of just riding alone, I also managed to do a couple of longer runs together with Danilo to bring the tyres to race distance, which helped us to better simulate what happens during a GP. We still have a few components to try tomorrow, development never stops and we’ll keep looking for more ways to improve our performance.”

After presenting its new lineup and livery at Neuchâtel (Switzerland) two weeks ago, the Mission Winnow Ducati team officially started its 2019 campaign at Sepang (Malaysia), home of a three-day official MotoGP test.

In the first day of testing, characterized by hot, sunny conditions – with more than 30 degrees outside and 55 on the tarmac – Andrea Dovizioso started his program slightly after 10 a.m. and took advantage of the track time to work across the board and evaluate technical upgrades on the Desmosedici GP19, which was already taken to the track for a shakedown by the official test rider Michele Pirro in the previous days.
Dovizioso finished in eighth place in 2:00.197 at just 0.146 seconds behind his teammate with 49 laps to his tally.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04, Mission Winnow Ducati) – 2:00.197 (8th)
“Today has been really positive because we found the track in good conditions already and the weather stayed dry. We made some comparisons but we haven’t found substantial differences yet so we need to make more evaluations in the following days. We have a really good base, and the work done by Michele Pirro is always helpful to this end, because he can try some components beforehand, saving us precious time. Also, I felt great physically, so I’m pretty happy overall.”