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A Friday playing catch-up for Ducati, called on to reckon with the superiority of Honda and Yamaha, who dominated in the first two free practice sessions. Holding the Red colours high was Jorge Lorenzo, putting the sixth best time on the boards behind Marc Marquez.
“It was a positive day. In fact, it was fantastic - the Majorcan specified - especially thanks to the weather. In fact, we were able to try all the tyres and the settings, but unfortunately there are two problems.”
Lorenzo goes into detail.
“We are having too many problems with the bumps - he said - However, in the afternoon we managed to improve, but we still have work to do. We are also lacking a bit of consistency - he added - since after two or three laps our pace drops compared with the fastest riders.”
The Spaniard is not short on confidence though, because there are also positive notes.
“I must say that I have the right confidence riding here, like at Brno and in Austria. Unfortunately, the problems I mentioned kept us from being competitive.”
At the end of FP2, there was a small hiccough, with number 99’s GP17 returning to pit lane pushed by Smith’s KTM.
“I did a longer than foreseen outing - he revealed - so I was stranded halfway through the lap.”
Besides his confidence, there is another encouraging aspect for Jorge.
“Definitely having done the time with the medium tyre - he concluded - with the soft I could have been closer to Viñales and Rossi. This way we will have an extra soft for tomorrow.”
DOVIZIOSO: THE TIMES DON’T WORRY ME. HONDA AND YAMAHA ARE FAST, BUT WE CAN STAY WITH THEM
Andrea Dovizioso is three positions farther back, almost a tenth behind Crutchlow’s Honda. However, he is not worried about the gap, because he has different priorities on Friday.
“Today did not go brilliantly - the Italian began - We wanted to try all the tyres, without focusing too much on the setup. We already have some pretty clear ideas - he added - Tomorrow we will see whether or not to confirm the work we’ve done.”
The time was not a determining factor for the Ducati rider.
“I am not worried about the times - he emphasised - since I could have been faster and today was not important. In any case, I noticed that there are a lot of competitive riders this weekend.”
Last year Dovi complained of severe pain I his forearm, but now he seems to have changed his tune.
“This time I can say that the Ducati is less physical - he admitted - However, this aspect also depends on our speed. In fact, Saturday we will try to have some clearer ideas in this area.”
As for the Red’s chances of shooting for the top, the Italian puts on the brakes.
“Sometimes making predictions on Friday evening is the wrong thing to do - he commented - Today Honda and Yamaha showed that they are fast, but I think that there are other riders too. I think that we can also be in the mix.”
Then there is the problem with the bumps that seems to create no small problems for the GP17. Andrea, however, is not of the same opinion.
“Everyone suffers with them and we need to adapt. In any case, I am convinced that this is not the main problem.”
Dovizioso definitely has some clear ideas about the fairing choice.
“Without making the comparison, you can never be certain of the details - he cautioned - I think that doing some tests if you have doubts is useful.”
