By Luigi Ciamburro / Motoracing
The Italian rider will be in Valencia to wear the colors of Ducati as a wildcard and test rider. “The goal for 2020 is to win the Championship with Andrea Dovizioso”, he announces.
A new year has just passed for Michele Pirro, which saw him clinch his fourth Superbike title. Always busy on two fronts, he also led the development of the Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP. “Succeeding in winning with a bike that is in its infancy like the V4 R is no small thing”, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Everyone did a fantastic job, it’s not easy to reconfirm during the race. The V4 descends from MotoGP, a bike that I have been riding and helping to develop for years. I immediately felt comfortable, it is very similar to MotoGP in many aspects. »
Now that his Superbike season is over, the Italian heads to Valencia to continue the development of 2020 with the aim of beating Honda and Marc Márquez. Second for three years, Ducati wants to make history again, and its 2007 title now seems far away. “ The one who has made the difference in recent years is Marc. We can progress. It's been three years since Dovizioso finished second. Our Achilles heel is cornering, we continue to work hard, but it's not easy because Marquez is very strong. We are not giving up and our goal remains the title. »
He will wear the colors of Ducati on the Valencian track as a wildcard, and 48 hours later he will test the first new products of 2020, on which he has been working for several months already. However, he says he is ready for a possible call to MotoGP. “Racing in the World Cup is a dream, I arrived at Ducati when the situation was really complicated. In the end we did an excellent job, the other teams copied us by creating very strong test teams. If one day the opportunity presents itself I will be ready and I will have the experience to run a whole year”, he commented.
“The objective for 2020 is to win the Championship with Dovizioso, then there is Petrucci who must progress, Miller who can still go up a level. We are a great group and we are working in the same direction. » How can we explain, moreover, Danilo Petrucci's difficult second half of the season? “MotoGP is always increasing its level, there are a lot of young riders, and he suffered on tracks where his physique did not help him. We are both quite heavy, but I believe that with the experience of this year he will be able to come back to the front and fight for the podium next year”, Pirro concluded.
About Luigi Ciamburro
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