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After yesterday's 37 laps, today Andrea Dovizioso got back on his GP19 today to finish the tests at Misano. The rider from Forlì seems to have (almost) recovered completely from that ugly blow at Silverstone during the accident with Fabio Quartararo's M1.
"I remember the entire fall. I got my memory back rather quickly," said Dovi. "When things are that fast, you realize what happens, but you can't do anything about it."
"I saw that Rins had lost his rear and also Quartararo, who was a bit more to the right. In those cases, you can't avoid the obstacle because everything is too fast, and I was mowed down. The problem was the hard tire: on the first lap, it wasn't ready because, putting them on the grid, we hadn't even raced two laps. Quartararo made a mistake because he wanted to do well. Too bad I paid for it.
So he didn't accuse the French rookie, who also had to take a trip to Coventry hospital after complaining of dizziness. How are you Andrea?
"I feel good today, and that's very important. I've worked a lot over the past few days to make up for it. I have some aches and pains, but it's not that bad. I'll be racing next week. I wanted to do this test because the track is very different. There's less grip than last year".
What do you think of this session at Misano? Also if you think about the fact that, in two weeks, you'll racing right here.
"They were two strange days because, as usual, we all did very well in the tests, since there were so many tires to try, and so you have to take the times with the calipers and see who used them and who didn't. Marc and I didn't use the extra-soft, for example. Today, I attempted to try the innovations I had available, and I wanted to put myself in the best possible conditions for the race weekend. I wasn't very fast, but I know that the tests are different from the races, even if some of my opponents were really fast."
The best of the day was Fabio Quartararo. Where do you stand, and how far away are you from closing the gap from the best?
"I didn't do a race simulation," Dovizioso said. "I didn't have the time, but my pace was slower than the others. Marc and Fabio seem to be doing better, but since there is little grip, I struggled a bit to ride like in the past because I reached the limit very quickly, and I struggled with the bike. It wasn't easy. Anyway, I understood a lot of things, and it was important to perform certain tests to get to the race weekend with precise ideas."
Ducati is suffering a lot on Fridays and Saturdays this year. Then, Dovi's and the GP19's potential on Sunday comes out. Is it a symptom of something wrong with the bike or is there something else?
"The fact is that our opponents have improved a lot," continued Dovizioso. "We often suffer on Friday and Saturday. Fortunately, my team and I know the bike well, and we can improve and be competitive in the race. Another important factor is that the Yamaha is better placed this year than in 2018, and they're working really hard to catch up with us and Honda."
Could the M1 be a problem for the Misano GP?
"Absolutely, this track is great for their bike and they can go fast. There are also other fast riders besides the Yamaha ones, but I'm in the group."
Audio recorded by Gianmaria Rosati
