Positive first day for Andrea Dovizioso, second at the end of Friday’s free practices at the Austrian GP
The first day of action at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian GP ended early this afternoon for Andrea Dovizioso, second overall after the first two free practice sessions.
After FP1 held in dry conditions, the rain fell during the morning at the Austrian race venue, stopping only shortly before the start of FP2 in the afternoon. With the mixed conditions of the asphalt and some sectors completely dry and others still wet, the Ducati Team rider preferred to take to the track in the final minutes of the afternoon session, completing only a couple of laps before the time ran out.
As the combined classification remained unchanged, the rider from Forlì closed with the second-best time of the day, just 0.044 seconds behind Pol Espargaro in first position, thanks to the fastest lap in 1:24.237 that he put in this morning in FP1.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:24.237 (2nd)
“I’m happy with this first day because we were able to be fast right away. Today I felt much more comfortable riding the bike, and I was able to improve especially in braking and in exiting the corners. Of course, there is still work to be done and, unlike the other years, many riders will be competitive on this track. We only finished one session today, but we are also among the first riders, so we are confident for tomorrow. We hope that the weather will hold up and allow us to do tomorrow’s sessions in the dry.”