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Dovizioso welcomes Danilo Petrucci as his new team-mate with open arms. The confirmation of the Italian's entry into the team came a few days ago, but it's not mystery that Andrea was in favour of the decision. But losing a champion like Lorenzo for a gamble like Danilo might appear to weaken the team.
“It's only normal for a factory team to go after the big naes, but I think that Danilo and I can form a stronger team than how we may appear on paper” states Dovi.
Why do you think that?
“Firstly, we both know the Ducati well, and we have two normal characters which allows us to talk to each other and compare to achieve something important together. When there are two top riders, you work together but are also wary of what the other's doing”.
So you're saying it was different with Lorenzo?
“I never had any problems with Jorge, but Ducati, logically, having invested so much, was dedicated to him. I can't complain because last year I fought for the title, but we could have worked differently. Such an important investment conditioned us".
Will it condition you to continue racing with a team-mate who's decided to leave at the end of the year?
“I don't think it's good to have so many riders changing team at the end of the year. This season may be conditioned by what's happening in the future, strategy may change depending on relationships within the teams.”
How do you expect Lorenzo and Marquez to get on together?
“Everyone's interested to see how Jorge will do in Honda. It's an important and very interesting move”.
Can Lorenzo become your most dangerous rival this year?
“In a certain sense that's normal, because he's my team-mate. At Mugello he rode really well, his win didn't just come down to a different tyre choice This is one of his favourite tracks, and I'm curious to see how he'll go this weekend”.
What do you expect from this race after the tests?
“I don't have clear ideas about the new asphalt yet, it seems to really consume the tyres. We'll need to work on the tyres more than usual and I expect there to be many competitive riders. I'm confident anyway, in recent races I've always fought for the podium”.
But you lost important points at Le Mans and Jerez...
“I don't see it like that, rather that we've always been fighting for first or second place in recent races. Marquez and Honda remain the reference,but I think we've been consistently fastest in the last three races. This is important, even if it doesn't bring points (he laughs)”.
Photo © Fermino Fraternali
