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MotoGP, Ducati unveils the GP17, Dall'Igna: "Now we 'just' need to win the championship"

Lorenzo emotional:"I feel like I am part of a big family. This is a special day", Dovizioso" We are working well, we are charged up"

Ducati unveils the GP17, Dall'Igna: "Now we 'just' need to win the championship"

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The 2017 adventure begins from Bologna for the Ducati guys. The Desmosedici GP17 was unveiled to the public, although not in its definitive version. In fact, the bike that was presented is still not the new one and we will have to wait for Qatar to see that one. As Gigi Dall'Igna himself stated, it is still in the development stages, development that began with Casey Stoner and Michele Pirro and which will be fine-tuned with Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo in order to be ready for the Championship opener.

This is an important year for the Ducati team. Positive results were achieved in 2016, so now they are on an upward trend, aspiring to return to the top of the world. Gigi Dall'Igna throws down the gauntlet: “A team that wants to win something so important must not have any excuses. With Lorenzo we have removed any excuses; now we just need to win... we want to try.” Focus is therefore on the work done and on what will be the new Desmosedici GP17:"Our strong points are the engine and the aerodynamics. We started from there, seeking to improve some critical points. Development is ongoing and we will see the real 2017 bike in Qatar."

Lights, colours and the curtain goes up. It is the big moment for Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. The Desmosedici Gp17 appears from backstage, framing the entrance of the next season’s Ducati standard-bearers. Jorge appears to be emotional. After the Yamaha years, his new adventure in “red” begins.

He finds a family with Ducati: "I feel more nervous than when I am in a race - he confesses - after so many years, to be on a new team... The welcome I received moved me. It is like being in a family. I was struck by the palpable passion." Then he talks about his sensations concerning the new bike: "It amazed me, I’ll admit, despite the fact that it is very powerful, you can still ride it really well. It is smooth in action. I like it." The goal is simple:" Obviously to get back to winning the title. It will certainly not be easy, but we have the potential." 

Andrea Dovizioso already knows the Ducati environment well and he hopes that the new season will be an upward continuation of 2016, a season where he drew satisfactions that were often not there in the past. The previous seasons had been marked by hard times for him, with alternating joy and disappointment. The goal for the new year, needless to say, is to improve:"Last year we finished the season very well and we are obviously beginning the new year charged up. I have believed in this project and, despite some difficult times in the early years, we have grown a lot." Then he talks about his relationship with his teammate: "Jorge and I have known one another for some time. Since we raced and cried about not winning (he laughs). It is an honour to have him on the team and motivation to do better."

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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