Recent hero of all Italy by having become the first Transalpine to win his national Grand Prix on a Ducati, Andrea did not rest on his laurels and showed himself to be very competitive in Spain by achieving the fourth fastest time in the first day of free practice.
From the morning session, Dovi indicated that he would have to be counted on again by taking third place, 0.630 behind Marc Marquez and 0.304 behind Cal Crutchlow. He was the only Ducati representative among the top seven classified.
He confirmed the afternoon with the fourth performance, ahead of 0.4 by Marc Marquez, while his teammate Jorge Lorenzo occupied second position. With Danilo Petrucci fifth, this first day confirmed the undeniable good dispositions of the Desmosedici GP17 for the Montmelo track.
Dovizioso started from the front row for the first time this year at Mugello, with the result that we know. But he started from fifth position in Qatar, which did not prevent him from finishing second. His sixth place on the grid at Le Mans turned into fourth at the checkered flag.
For Andrea Dovizioso, “ Although we found the track in poor condition and with lots of bumps, the test a few weeks ago helped us establish a good base and today we made good times.
“I think we need to work on consistency more than speed, because the grip of the rear tire decreases very quickly and the pace we can keep after a few laps will be very important.
“In any case today we started well and tomorrow we will try to improve the feeling at the front. »
Results of the first day of free practice revised:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Repsol Honda Team-Honda 1'44.478
2 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati Team-Ducati 1'44.700
3 Jonas FOLGER-Monster Yamaha Tech 3-Yamaha 1'44.839
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati Team-Ducati 1'44.883
5 Danilo PETRUCCI-OCTO Pramac Racing-Ducati 1'44.890
6 Johann ZARCO-Monster Yamaha Tech 3-Yamaha 1'45.063
7 Dani PEDROSA-Repsol Honda Team-Honda 1'45.098
8 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Pull&Bear Aspar Team-Ducati 1'45.116
9 Valentino ROSSI-Movistar Yamaha MotoGP-Yamaha 1'45.118
10 Hector BARBERA-Reale Avintia Racing-Ducati 1'45.311
11 Scott REDDING-OCTO Pramac Racing-Ducati 1'45.375
12 Andrea IANNONE-Team SUZUKI ECSTAR-Suzuki 1'45.465
13 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia Racing Team Gresini-Aprilia 1'45.554
14 Loris BAZ-Reale Avintia Racing-Ducati 1'45.755
15 Sam LOWES-Aprilia Racing Team Gresini-Aprilia 1'45.760
16 Maverick VIÑALES-Movistar Yamaha MotoGP-Yamaha 1'45.810
17 Jack MILLER-EG 0,0 Marc VDS-Honda 1'45.868
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Pull&Bear Aspar Team-Ducati 1'45.932
19 Cal CRUTCHLOW-LCR Honda-Honda 1'45.967
20 Tito RABAT-EG 0,0 Marc VDS-Honda 1'46.229
21 Pol ESPARGARO-Red Bull KTM Factory Racing-KTM 1'46.946
22 Sylvain GUINTOLI-Team SUZUKI ECSTAR-Suzuki 1'47.002
23 Bradley SMITH-Red Bull KTM Factory Racing-KTM 1'47.892
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 105 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 79
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 75
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 68
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 64
7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 46
8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 42
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 41
10 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
Photos © Ducati
