During the offseason, Andrea Dovizioso was in unison with his employer Ducati to warn that, this time, the Holy Grail of a world crown was accessible. The GP19 was the synthesis of past Desmosedici with more qualities and without the defects. What about four Grands Prix later? This is not entirely true, but without being false...
But for Dovizioso, it is rather this last point which concerns him. Especially after the last tests in Jerez where Honda presented a promising new chassis. Why this concern? The double world vice-champion of the last two campaigns explains on Motorsport : " when we are in difficulty, we finish fourth. It's good, but not enough and that bothers me a little. Because Marc is strong enough to fight for victory or the podium in every race, even when it is on a bad track for him. This is the part where I'm not too happy ».
« Our goal was to get on the podium in every race and we didn't do it, that's a negative ", added Dovizioso, who is now three points behind the championship leader and official Honda, in third place in the general classification.
« The other negative point is the confirmation of our lack of speed in fast corners. I was struggling at the start of the race in Jerez, I couldn't keep that speed. We worked quite well during testing, our speed was quite good but only the race can show the reality. I thought we might have a more limited difficulty in this sector, but our speed was not enough to stay ahead » regrets the teammate Danilo Petrucci.
However, he corrects himself: “ ultimately, the speed was not bad and the final gap was reduced. So, it's positive. I think we are faster than last year, but there are more competitors in a better situation than last year. We can therefore find ourselves fourth more easily today. There are positive things, but we wanted something more. In Jerez our goal was a podium, and we couldn't achieve it ».
