MotoGP, Dovizioso and the Argentina taboo: the Ducati has improved

Dovizioso arrives in Argentina as championship leader, something that Ducati hasn't experienced since 2009, after Stoner won the inaugural round. It stands to reason that the Italian is in high spirits now that the GP18 has proved its competitiveness, although Termas de Rio Hondo represents a different challenge.

Things went well in 2015, when Andrea scored a 2nd place finish but last year the Desmosedici struggled and Dovi failed to finish the race after being hit by Aleix Espargarò, rather like 2016 when it was Iannone to knock his team-mate to the ground shortly before the finish line.

Highs and lows for the red bikes in recent years then, but Andrea has already proved in Qatar that he knows how to break a taboo, something he's out to do again this coming weekend.

"This circuit is rather unusual, in that the conditions change a lot between Friday, when the track surface is usually very dirty, and Sunday, when the asphalt has improved considerably. Last year at Termas we struggled a lot, but the Desmosedici GP has improved a lot since then and after the win in Qatar we are very excited, so our aim now is to get a good result also in Argentina.”

LORENZO: RESULTS WILL COME SOON - While Dovizioso is out for a repeat performance, Lorenzo would like to exit the tunnel he's been languishing in for a while now. Luck was not on his side at Losail, with Brembo accepting responsibility, and now it's time to change gear.

“After the disappointment of Qatar, as well as trying to understand the causes of the problem so it doesn’t happen again, for us the important thing is to continue to work as hard as ever, because I think we are close to finding a more suitable setting for my riding style. I’m working with my usual commitment and I’m sure that we are going to get good results soon, even in Argentina, because I don’t believe there are favourable or unfavourable tracks, and when I arrive at a circuit I always think I can fight for the win. Everything is possible in MotoGP: the championship is still very long and we have to think positively."