Unfortunate race for Andrea Dovizioso, involved in an accident on the first lap

It was an unlucky race for Andrea Dovizioso, that was forced to retire on the first lap as he got involved in a crash.
As he got off the line well from 17th on the grid, Dovizioso had managed to recover immediately several positions. But, at the second corner, he was hit by the bike of Johann Zarco, that fell in the attempt to avoid Petrucci’s Desmosedici GP bike during the hectic early stages of the race. With his retirement today, the rider from Forlì is forced to give up on his lead in the Championship, which sees him now fourth, 24 points behind the new leader Quartararo.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – DNF
“Crashing out at the second corner is always difficult to digest, and I’m sorry for how the race went today. I had focused on making a good start, and at the end of the straight, I managed to recover several positions. Unfortunately, I got involved in an accident on the first lap, which was the result of a normal race dynamic. The Championship is potentially still open but, if we want to challenge for the title, now more than ever, we need to return to the levels of competitiveness to which we are used to”.

Andrea Dovizioso will start from the sixth row of the grid in the Catalan Grand Prix that will be held tomorrow at the Montmelò circuit, on the outskirts of Barcelona

It was a difficult day for Andrea Dovizioso. After finishing the first three free practice sessions in thirteenth overall, he was forced to take part in Q1 where, as he wasn’t able to take full advantage of the soft tyres he ended with the seventh time overall with a lap time in 1:40.109. Andrea will start from the sixth row of the grid in tomorrow’s race at the Catalan race track.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:40.109 (17th)
“Unfortunately I am still struggling to understand how to brake properly, and obviously this complicates everything, especially in qualifying. As I am not feeling comfortable when braking, I can’t be as fast as I want and try to make the most of the tyres. It’s a shame because our pace for the race is not bad, but the position from which we will start tomorrow will definitely affect our performance.”

Andrea Dovizioso ends the first two free practice sessions in 15th position

The strong wind and the lack of grip affected the first day of free practices of the Catalunya Grand Prix, which is held this weekend at the Montmeló Circuit, in Spain.
After having finished FP1 with the second-fastest time in 1:40.861, Andrea Dovizioso returned to the track this afternoon aiming to understand the bike behaviour with used tyres ahead of Sunday’s race. Therefore, the rider from Forlì couldn’t improve his morning performance ending the day in 15th place and intending to access directly in Q2 by trying his time attack in FP3 tomorrow morning.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:40.861 (15th)
“As expected, there is much less grip on this track than Misano, and for this reason, in this morning’s session, we first had to adapt to these new conditions. Compared to the rest of the riders on track, today we worked very differently and therefore we cannot make a real comparison to understand our potential. Unfortunately, with today’s strong wind we have not been able to get any univocal feedback from the tests we made, so we hope tomorrow to find different conditions, which will allow us to confirm the work done. The goal will be to be able to finish FP3 in the top ten tomorrow morning”.

Andrea Dovizioso ready to resume action at Montmeló Circuit for the eighth round of the 2020 MotoGP season

The Ducati Team rider is ready to return to the track for the third weekend in a row, to compete in the eighth round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, at Montmeló in Spain.
Dovizioso, current Championship leader with a one-point lead over Quartararo and Viñales (tied in second and third respectively), arrives in Spain determined to redeem himself after two challenging races at Misano Adriatico.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1st (84 points)
“In the last two GPs, unfortunately, we have not been competitive enough, but we try to see the positive side of the two races in Misano: we are on top of the Standings, even if the fight is all open. We still lack speed, and if we want to be able to fight for the Championship title, we can’t waste time anymore. We will have to adapt to the asphalt of Montmeló, which will certainly have less grip than Misano’s, and this could prove to be a determining factor for everyone. I am sure that if we continue to work as we have done in the last few weeks, better results will come soon.”

Andrea Dovizioso maintains Championship lead with an eigthth position in the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and the Rimini Riviera

After starting from tenth on the grid, Andrea Dovizioso couldn’t make his way through and remained behind the group losing more ground on Lap 1. Forced to slow down to avoid being involved in a crash with other two riders that were proceeding him, the rider from Romagna dropped back into fourteenth place, but then managed to find a good pace and recover to get back into the top ten after a few laps. Eighth at the finish line, Dovizioso earned valuable points today that keep him in the Championship lead with just one point on Quartararo and Viñales, who are second and third respectively, tied on points.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 8th
“It was a complicated race. Unfortunately, when you start from the back, there is always the risk of wasting time, especially in the first laps. After the start there was a bit of confusion: at Turn 8 two riders fell in front of me and I had to brake, leaving room for two other opponents who overtook me. After a few laps, I finally found my rhythm, and I just thought about trying to stay constant. I felt better than last week, but I didn’t have a great pace and being so far behind, I couldn’t do any strategy. In the end, today we scored some points, and for now, we are still leading the standings, but of course, we cannot be satisfied with today’s result.”

Fourth row start for Andrea Dovizioso in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and the Rimini Riviera.

Andrea Dovizioso, fourteenth overall at the end of the first three free practise sessions, had to take part in Q1 this afternoon where he managed to get a spot in Q2 closing the first session of qualifying with the second-fastest time. Unfortunately, the rider from Forlì couldn’t go beyond a 1:31.581 lap time in Q2, ending as tenth quickest, and getting to start tomorrow race from Row 4.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:31.581 (10th)
“It has been a difficult day. This morning we weren’t able to get through to Q2 directly, but luckily we found something in FP4 that improved my feeling with the bike, and that allowed me to set the second-fastest time in Q1. Unfortunately, in Q2, I wasn’t able to do a perfect lap. Tomorrow we will start the race quite from behind, but I hope this won’t penalize us too much”.

Andrea Dovizioso closes Day 1 of the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and the Rimini Riviera in twelfth position

Andrea Dovizioso, current championship leader, ended the day with the twelfth time overall. After having completed a positive test last Tuesday, the rider from the Bologna-based squad spent the day looking for the best setup ahead of Sunday’s race, ending the day with a time of 1:32.152, that he posted during this morning FP1.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:32.152 (12th)
“Today, we preferred to focus on the preparations for the race, without worrying too much about the lap times. We have made some progress, but it is still not enough: our rivals have also improved a lot since last Tuesday’s test. In any case, I am confident: we know where we need to work on to be more competitive. Now we need to keep our concentration: tomorrow morning it will be important to close FP3 in the top ten”.

Day of official testing completed for Dovizioso in Misano ahead of the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna and the Rimini Riviera scheduled for this weekend

Taking advantage of the favourable weather conditions and the chilly temperatures, Andrea Dovizioso took to the track around 10:00 AM this morning completing a total of 45 laps and setting his best time in 1:32.290. Having already completed his test program in the morning, the rider from Forlì – and current championship leader – opted not to take part in the afternoon session to restore forces ahead of the next consecutive Grand Prix, scheduled for this weekend.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:32.290 (8th)
“I am satisfied with this day of testing: this morning, we were able to complete our program, working on the details that interested us most. After a difficult weekend like the past one, it would not have made sense to continue testing even in the afternoon, since we will have another three days to be able to work. Compared to the last GP, I feel I can be much more competitive this weekend. Still, we have to keep our feet on the ground: our rivals have also been working to improve and getting a spot on the front rows will be even more important, but in general, I am confident and positive”.

Andrea Dovizioso, seventh on the finish line in Misano, takes the Championship lead.

Andrea Dovizioso finished in seventh position the Lenovo Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera held at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” today. Also, thanks to Fabio Quartararo’s retirement in today’s race, the Ducati Team rider took the lead in the Championship standings, 6 points ahead of the Frenchman.
As he got off the line from the third row of the grid in ninth place, Dovizioso managed not to lose positions at the start, remaining within the group chasing the front. After Quartararo’s crash on Lap 8, the rider from Forlì tried to set his pace to close the gap on the front riders. Only towards the end of the race, he managed to finally catch Jack Miller, passing it on the final lap to finish in the seventh position.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 7th
“It was a tough race. Since I was starting from the back, I struggled a lot to find the rhythm at the beginning. I still can’t be as competitive as I would like with these tyres and the riding style I’ve always adopted in the past years is not working right now. Fortunately, this Tuesday, we will have a day of testing here in Misano, which will be very important to try to solve this aspect. The championship this year is weird, and now we are leading the standings. We have to see the positive side of the current situation and continue to work, putting all our effort to come back stronger in the next races. I congratulate Pecco on his great performance today.”

Andrea Dovizioso will start from the third row of the grid in the Lenovo Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera scheduled for tomorrow in Misano Adriatico

After having gained direct access to Q2, finishing 10th in FP3 this morning, Andrea Dovizioso had to settle in ninth place (1:32.184) in the official qualifying. At the end of the day, however, the rider from Forlì has declared to be satisfied with the work done together with his team as he was finally able to find a good feeling with his Ducati Desmosedici GP20 bike.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:32.184 (9th)
“I’m happy because we were finally able to improve my feeling with the bike and today we got closer to the front riders. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do better than the ninth place in qualifying; our goal today was to finish at least in the second row because here in Misano the start is short and quite narrow. Now we will try to take another step forward in tomorrow morning’s warm-up. The goal for the race tomorrow will be fighting in the top five positions.”