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The San Marino GP is not just a home race for Rossi, but also for the red bikes. The Ducati HQ is based in Bologna, not far from Misano and the team has carefully prepared for this Grand Prix. Iannone and Dovizioso recently completed a test at the Italian track, allowing them to get off on the right foot this weekend.
The two Andreas were slowed down at Silverstone by forearm problems, a side effect of the physical riding that the Desmosedici requires. They are now in shape and optimistic however, also because they've never experienced such problems at Misano.
In addition, there's a little curse they want to break, in that neither of them has ever reached the MotoGP podium at the Italian track.
“I don’t think I will have any problems with my forearm in the Misano race - Iannone assures us - I haven’t suffered with arm pump since my operation in 2013 and now I’m confidently looking forward to our home race. The weather conditions should be better than in England and this will allow us to make constant progress during the weekend. I think the Desmosedici GP can be competitive at this track, two weeks ago we had a test there that gave good results. It’s true that we didn’t have any of our main competitors to compare with, but the feeling was very good and I think we have a good chance of doing well in the race.”
Dovizioso is also optimistic after the disappointment of the English race.
“It’s a pity about last Sunday, because we could have got a better result had it not been for the problem with my forearm, but I’m happy to get back on track again right away at Misano, where expectations are higher than Silverstone for sure. We did a test here at the end of August and, apart from the crash at the end of the day, we worked well and I feel confident, even though we’ll only find out during the weekend.”
Test rider Michele Pirro will also be taking part in the race as a wildcard entry.
“I hope that I can get some satisfaction at Misano, especially after everything that’s happened in the CIV championship - comments Michele, referring to his disqualification due to an engine irregularity with his Panigale - In any case this is an important weekend for our team, because after our first win at Zeltweg we have shown that we can be competitive at every circuit. I’m ready to tackle this weekend with the Test Team and as always I’ll be doing my best to get a good result for me and for Ducati.”
