Following on from last Sunday’s splendid win at Mugello, Andrea Dovizioso and his team are gearing up for the seventh round of the season, scheduled this weekend at the Montmeló circuit on the outskirts of Barcelona in Spain. A long straight and numerous overtaking points make the Catalan circuit one of the most spectacular on the calendar and the Gran Premi de Catalunya always attracts a massive crowd.
At Mugello Andrea Dovizioso achieved a truly historic feat by scoring the first victory by an Italian rider on an Italian bike in a grand prix held in Italy since 1974.
Last year’s edition of the Catalan GP saw Andrea Dovizioso finish in seventh place, and his best result was a third place in 2012.
This year the circuit layout has been modified slightly and it now uses a new chicane after Turn 13, similar to the Formula 1 race: in addition, the gravel run-off areas have been increased and the artificial grass has virtually disappeared.
The weekend programme gets underway on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 9.55 CET, while the 25-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 14.00 CET.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd (79 points)
“After a fantastic win at Mugello I’m second overall in the championship standings, but I don’t exactly know what to expect from the Barcelona race. This year every weekend seems to be a different story, and in the test two weeks ago here at Montmelò I was still missing something in the way of feeling. Obviously however we are very excited after the win in the Italian GP and this will help us for sure, even though it will only be during the weekend that we will be able to understand our true potential.”