MotoGP, Ducati: the errors? Caused also by the Michelins

It should have been the year in which Ducati took the decisive step, winning after so many close calls, but the start of the season has been lacking in results. The Desmosedici GP (GP16 to its friends) had shown its power in winter testing but when it came to the sprint something has gone awry.

Bad luck, technical problems, mistakes, without forgetting the tyre change made by Michelin, all factors that have clipped the Ducati's wings.

“After testing we started out positively but have been unable to score the results that we expected - explains Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti - At Jerez we also had to adapt the bike to the tyres brought by Michelin and they caused us problems. At Le Mans we improved but couldn't bring anything home there either”.

Both Dovizioso and Iannone crashed…
“Yes, but many riders crashed in the race, 8 in all”.

Due to the tyres?
“The Michelins, right now, are a critical factor”.

You've thrown away all the useful work completed over the winter?
“Tests are always useful, but we'd based on work around the characteristics of those tyres and in the end it wasn't as useful as we'd hoped".

Can you explain further?
“We moved forward with development based on a front tyre, the 36, that worked well with our bike but we don't have that tyre anymore. The same goes for the rear, we could rely on a tyre with good grip, but now we don't have that one either”.

Dovizioso, after the Le Mans race, said that a change in mentality was needed, and that you need to think more about constancy than speed…
“Performance is always important. I think that the main problem is with the front tyre because riders fall without warning. We need different balance”.

Not just you though…
“It's more obvious a problem with certain bikes, but I repeat, at Le Mans almost half the riders crashed. Probably, the fact that they brought a rear tyre with more grip led to problems at the front”.

The result being that you're fairly far back in the standings…
“We need to start finishing races. Dovizioso in Argentina and Austin crashed through no fault of his own. Those could have been two podiums and we'd be telling a different story right now”.

You can't change the past…
“We need to carry out analysis, because negative results leave a mark. For example, the technical issue that Dovizioso had at Jerez helped us to understand where to work to resolve the small reliability problems”.

Dovizioso has been very unlucky, but Iannone has made mistakes. How do you judge that?
“The errors occurred due to a combination of factors. In Qatar, to react to attacks by his teammate, he ended up on the white line. What happened in Argentina needs no comment, while at Le Mans he was trying to catch Lorenzo”.

A little too quickly?
“That's easy to say, but it's the rider on his bike and only he has a clear picture. Andrea wants to do well because he knows he has a bike that can allow it, but these tyres led to the mistake”.

What's the solution?
“Going fast is not enough, we need to score results”.

Could the battle for the last spot in Ducati be having an effect?
“We have two professional riders, who both have other options outside of Ducati. The contractual situation hasn't had any bearing on what's happened, neither of them has spoken to be about that. There's some rivalry yes, but that's totally normal between two teammates”.