At Ducati, as also elsewhere, we have put together plans and other strategies to best face what is, this season, the great novelty, like the perfect unknown, namely the sprint race. The first will take place this Saturday afternoon in Portimao as part of a Portuguese Grand Prix which will open the 2023 competition. And here is how we will approach the obstacle among the reds.
Make no mistake, this new competition at the pace of a Saturday afternoon sprint is taken very seriously by both the drivers and the teams. And for good reason: it shakes up the entire program upstream, with qualifying which will begin from the first free session on Friday where you will already have to think about entering Q2. Saturday will be busy with the creation of the starting grid in the morning before, therefore, this afternoon sprint. Then we will move into another dimension on Sunday with the race which can now be described as traditional.
Enough to convince yourself that you have to practically start from scratch when approaching the competition, and that starts by putting away what happened in 2022 in the memory aisle... “There is the awareness that we won a deserved championship, the tests went well, and we don't let our guard down. Both drivers have great skills, Pecco Bagnaia to regain the title, Enea Bastianini to counter him in victory », declared the team manager Davide Tardozzi at Sky Sport.
At Ducati, we are for change: “ changing habits after so many years where nothing has changed can be positive«
He explains how he sees the Grands Prix in the new format: “ it will not be easy, because in qualifying, it will be necessary take risks, starting at the front will be very important. Three hours later we will have to race… Both at the mental level of the rider and at the technical level of the bike, it will be necessary to be careful and reckless at the same time.. You will have to have a slightly different mental attitude and only a champion will prove it ».
« It will also be more stressful for a team » added the sporting director of Ducati Corse Paolo ciabatti to 'La Gazzetta dello Sport', taken up by Motoracing. Then he adds: “ strategies will change, in terms of costs we had to create 12 liter tanks which were not necessary, the pilots will be forced to immediately reach maximum performance… ". Then he finishes: “ changing habits after so many years where nothing has changed can be positive ».
