After a rather lackluster race in Australia, Andrea Dovizioso arrived at the Sepang circuit with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, the Ducati rider particularly appreciates the Malaysian track where he has already won twice in the premier category in 2016 and 2017, but, on the other hand, it is clear that, despite the two long straights, the machines from Borgo Panigale hardly shone there last year even though they had a more powerful engine than the competition.
This year, Honda has caught up in this area and the second in the championship even declared at a press conference that the gap with Marc Márquez was simply " ridiculous ".
However, at the end of the first day of free practice at Sepang, Andrea Dovizioso occupies third place in the combined standings while the Honda driver only appears in 6th position.
Fifth this morning after FP1, number 04 was indeed able to improve his sensations during the afternoon session, concluding it in 2nd position with a time of 1'59.206, 6 tenths behind the Quartararo missile .
Will things stay there? No one knows, but what is taken is no longer to be taken and the Ducati rider does not hide his satisfaction.
Andrea Dovizioso : “Sepang is a fascinating circuit, but it’s also complicated. So it was quite a difficult day, as expected, because of the heat and the tire degradation that we always experience on this track. But in the end, our speed in the second free practice session was better than we expected. We spent some time with the worn tire from the morning session. It was very important for us. We're not the fastest, but we're in the group, and I didn't expect that. »
“We tried a different set up in the afternoon: it was something quite big that we had never tried before and which gave interesting results. It's not easy to deal with, as always, there are positives and negatives, but the positive outweighs the negative and it has allowed me to be more consistent and faster, so I'm happy with the improvements today. That's why I was able to be fast with worn tires. I am happy. It's still not enough to think we can fight for victory on Sunday, because there are drivers who are better placed than us, but I'm happy with the work we did today and my feelings. »
The Ducati rider specifies that he will try to start on soft tires for the race…
“It’s very hot, the tires are very soft. You really have to ride smoothly because you lack grip at the front and rear. It's not easy, but that's what I love about Malaysia. This is not easy to do with our motorcycle. We are working in this direction because last year I struggled a lot with the medium during the race. We wanted to see if the software could allow me a little more. It's an option, but we don't know if it's even better. We didn't have time to compare it in the afternoon. »
Finally, the 33-year-old Italian who is the only one to have interfered between the Yamahas offers an explanation for the M1 times...
“I'm not surprised because I was also fast on the Yamaha in 2012. I think this bike has a good balance for this track. It has good mid-corner speed, which is very important here since the grip is quite low. If you can keep speed in the middle of the corner, that's good, especially in the afternoon. They're also pretty good on the brakes, so I'm not surprised the Yamahas are so strong. Quartararo had an incredible ride. I congratulate him because he is having an excellent season. He will fight for the title next year, in addition to the speed on a timed lap, he is very consistent and always pressing during the race. »
FP2 standings MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:
FP1-FP2 standings MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
