MotoGP, Dovizioso: Ducati still too physical, I gave in to fatigue

One year ago at Le Mans, none of the Factory Ducati machines managed to make it to the finish line. This time, despite the difficulties, the GP17 bikes achieved the goal at the Bugatti Circuit. Andrea Dovizioso finished the race in fourth place ahead of Crutchlow’s Honda.

“I am happy with the result, even if it does not fully reflect the reality of the situation, given the crashes. I must say that I am not very satisfied with the speed since we are still lacking something to be up front. In some points I was competitive but in others I lost too much. Maybe I was riding too intensely and I feel pain in my forearm.”

And yet, you battled with Pedrosa and Cal.

“The gap was small, but I was riding at more than 100%, whereas they were at 95%. I was pushing to the limit and I felt that from a physical point of view to maintain their pace. I felt competitive in a few braking sections and in fifth and sixth, whereas I lost too much in terms of grip and acceleration. This is a track where you don’t have much of a chance to be inventive. You need to be good at getting the bike up to speed. I tried with the intensity, but I had to take a breather.”

In Barcelona you will be back on the track for the tests.

“It will definitely be an important chance to test, but we won’t have anything that drastically changes the bike. Two days are a lot, especially at an important time of the season.”

Thinking about using the new fairing here at Le Mans?

“It is not a quantifiable thing. If we did not use it then there must be a reason. At the moment we have other aspects on which to focus to be as competitive as our rivals. We need to focus on what we are clearly lacking, without inventing too many things.”

The next race is at Mugello where the 70 tyre will also be reintroduced.

“If I’m honest, in Valencia and Jerez I never felt the difference on that tyre. The test went well, although the times we did don’t count for anything, given the absence of the rivals. Maybe we’ll be able to be closer since we had good sensations. I definitely am as aware of our limits as I am of the fact that we can easily set our sights on the win.”

The podium two weeks ago didn’t mask some problems?

“In Jerez, Jorge rode sublimely. When he rides like that he gets a great result, but I am not surprised that he struggled here.”

This time the podium was a distant mirage. Indeed, because Jorge Lorenzo had to play catch-up. As if that were not enough, yesterday he did not go through to Q2, so he started from the sixteenth spot on the grid, but in the end he crossed the line sixth.

Is it a wide gap between you and Viñales?

“Twenty-four seconds are a lot. The leaders had about six tenths more than me in terms of pace at the start. Plus, starting so far back was not easy, especially maintaining my nerves.”

In the second half of the race you were fast.

“There were a few crashes that helped me, despite being able to be rather consistent and then staying three tenths on the pace. I do not think that I have ever been so consistent with the Ducati, stressing the fact that maybe I never felt entirely at ease with the settings.”

Now we go to Mugello.

“We will have to work especially on the tyres. At the moment we do not have a strong point, but we definitely were able to gather various information after the last test.”

What changed compared with two weeks ago?

“In Jerez I had a lot of time from Friday to sort the bike. Here we were able to improve the Ducati, but not enough. In some braking sections I struggled to lean the bike over the way I wanted to, whereas in the second part I felt more competitive.”

What is the final assessment of the weekend?

“I consider it a positive race, partly because in this Championship anything can happen. We need to take a step forward in terms of the front, where we are still losing a half a second.”

Valentino in the gravel, would you have imagined that?

“It is a crazy World Championship. Rossi has always been consistent. Today he saw Viñales within reach. If he had known he would crash ahead of time, he probably wouldn’t have pushed (he jokes). There were a lot of mistakes made by the leaders and I am convinced that they will not be the last ones either.”