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MotoGP, Dovizioso and Pirro in chorus: the tyres conditioned the result

Andrea: "I didn't push, I didn't know if they'd hold up". Michele: "The wheel or mounting? We don't know"

Dovizioso and Pirro in chorus: the tyres conditioned the result

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Bitter, very bitter. This is the taste that Andrea Dovizioso is left with today, having started out with very different expectations. The tyres let him down.

“It's very frustrating to finish eleventh after yesterday's work, seeing as we had good pace in qualifying. Perhaps we couldn't have reached the podium, but we could have been there with Vinales. Unfortunately a problem emerged at the front, which conditioned us. Then I had various difficulties, I was struggling in braking. As if that wasn't enough, I also had continuous vibration, even at the rear”.

Were the Michelins to blame?
“I don't know who's to blame, we have to analyse the situation. For sure, we, Ducati, suffer a lot with the tyres, but what happened today was strange. A problem like that can't arise after four laps”.

Michelin says that Ducati is softer on the tyres.
“In certain situations Ducati has been softer compared to the other bikes, because in these situations we can't use the hard, due to the lack of grip, and so we have to choose the soft. As I didn't push, I can't know whether the tyres would have held up until the end”.

It's not the first time though. What does it depend on?
“We don't know the reasons, there are various reasons. Perhaps it's an incorrect mounting, or the wheel that struggles to hold the tyre”.

The situation was the same for Michele Pirro.
“A strange weekend, yesterday I missed a session and struggled with the tyres. Starting isn't my strong point, so much so that I couldn't fight with the top ten. I had a lot of vibration, as a result I decided not to take any risks. The tyres conditioned the result”.

What causes all this?
“The problem starts at the rear and then affects the entire bike. Unfortunately, we can't understand what the issues are, as we're going at 300 km/h. Michelin says the tyres are safe, but they should try riding with them. At the start, the tyre was holding up more, but only because I was cautious”.

You opted for the soft.
“We were the only ones to choose the soft, maybe Pedrosa too, who didn't have a great race. With these tyres you can go from hero to zero. The tyres change too often and condition performance. Unfortunately there's little we can do”.

What was the main problem?
“The Michelins were turning on the wheel and were not balanced, they need to carry out the necessary analysis. The result falls below our expectations, as it doesn't reflect our potential. There are also surprises around the corner on Sunday”.

The Aprilias proved to have taken a step forward.
“Aprilia has improved a lot after Misano and the Valencia test, showing that they are quite fast. We need to understand the tyres' limit".

Translated by Heather Watson
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