The last edition of the Aragon Grand Prix will not remain a good memory for the Ducati troops. The Desmosedici suffered this year on the side of Alcaniz, to the point of experiencing a collective wreck in the race.
Worse, they all finished behind the two official Aprilias. Aprilia is a compatriot and it is precisely for this reason that it is fashionable to dominate him. However, in Aragon, last weekend, the opposite happened.
A sudden revelation from the RS-GP? A little, but not only that.
The Ducatis were paralyzed by a lack of grip that was both recurring and widespread.
We know that the official Andrea Dovizioso created an illusion during the first laps before having to slow down and grit his teeth until the finish line was crossed outside the top 10. The Italian wanted to be diplomatic at the finish by not castigating Michelin. He swore that a joint assessment between Ducati and the manufacturer would be carried out together to untangle the tangle. It must be pushed since, for the moment, we have no news about it.
Among the satellite pilots, we also ruminate on our disappointment. So Yonny Hernandez : “we were competitive, I was fighting for eleventh place. Unfortunately, the tire started to deteriorate from halfway through the race. My bike was sliding so much that I could only try to manage the lead I had. You feel trapped and it's frustrating. All other competitors pass you, even though you can theoretically go faster. But when we have grip, we know we can fight for a Top 10.”.
At Hector Barbera, we are more precise on the source of the problem: “The weekend was complicated, the grip was very precarious at the rear. We tried to resolve this issue over the weekend, to no avail. During the race, my bike was sliding a lot and was not very fast in a straight line. Michele Pirro hit me on the first lap. I deviated from the trajectory, I gave everything to then come back. It was difficult, but I don't think the outcome would have been any different without this incident. I hope Michelin will bring new tires to the next races because all the Ducati riders had the same problem on this track. It’s not normal to see Andrea Dovizioso, just four seconds ahead of us”.
Helplessness, trap, frustration, these words often came up in the Ducati clan in Aragon. They also received a favorable response from Dani Pedrosa.
As for Michelin, its silence on the subject is currently deafening, but we will contact them.
