Andrea Dovizioso delights in this red period of MotoGP, the color of the factory Ducatis which were a far cry from the Desmosedici he knew when he arrived at Borgo Panigale in 2013. He then regained the status of factory rider after having experienced it at Honda, in come out of an interesting Tech3 Yamaha parenthesis since it was marked by six podiums. In 2018, the man who will be the spearhead of his fellow brand for the next two years remembers. To better date.
Because he built his current status and he conquered it. Built during seasons of hard work and imposed in the stand against a Jorge Lorenzo which nevertheless turned out too late. Six victories in 2017 for DesmoDovi, world vice-champion, and three successes this year for the same in the running to finish in the same place in the general classification this year anchor him as the essential of the Ducati project in MotoGP.
« Thinking back to 2013, my first year at Ducati, and now, there is a big difference“, sourit Dovizioso. " It takes time, and I'm quite old now, but we've progressed step by step. We suffered a lot at the beginning, but that's normal. By then we were too late. We had to understand what we could change. It's very difficult when you have to change something inside the factory ". It will be recalled that Ducati was coming out of two years spent with Valentino Rossi, a couple from whom we expected a lot and which turned out to be a disappointment.
The key moment was the appointment as general manager of Ducati Corse of Gigi Dall'Igna, from Aprilia, which, with the work of pilots and engineers, has made it possible to transform a machine that was once complicated to drive into a benchmark in the category.
« I am very proud to be part of this project from the beginning“, insiste Dovi. “Je suis venu chez Ducati un an avant Gigi, alors être dans cette situation maintenant est très spécial pour moi. Pas seulement pour la vitesse que nous avons et les performances que nous pouvons réaliser, mais pour faire partie d’un groupe solide où nous avons beaucoup lutté, mais notre objectif était clair. Maintenant, nous sommes dans cette situation. Je suis vraiment content d’être dans ce groupe ».
Next year, his teammate will be Danilo Petrucci whose assigned mission is clearly to support a Dovizioso affirmed leader of the team who will be at his disposal. A policy known in Formula 1 with Ferrari.
