Andrea Dovizioso noted like all his colleagues that riding the Portuguese slide with a MotoGP was not an easy task. His experience during a discovery course with a test value on the Panigale Superleggera V4 was not very useful to him once behind the handlebars of the powerful Desmosedici GP20. But as always, he favored work over instinct and it ended up paying off with a ranking in the top 10. Nothing to brag about, but we will remember that this is the last meeting between Dovi and Ducati who would like to try to leave almost good friends...
Andrea Dovizioso gave of himself and drew on his skills to emerge head-high from his challenge with the “Autodromo Internacional do Algarve”. A plot of Portimao which gave him a seventh place on Friday, at the end of the first two free practice sessions.
« At first I had absolutely no feeling "Says Andrea Dovizioso. This is why major changes have been made to the configuration of its Ducati. " There are many uphill and downhill passages. It's very unusual and difficult to deal with, especially with MotoGP. In the end, my feelings weren't great either, but the lap time isn't so bad. We definitely need to improve because everyone will on Saturday. But it didn't go too bad ».
« As always, when you take to a track with MotoGP it's very different from other bikes. When you go out on the track, everything seems smaller. It's a fascinating track, especially for spectators in my opinion. When it comes to driving, for my style, it's not fantastic », admitted the 34-year-old Italian.
« At first it was very difficult for me to turn corners. You must always be in a reclined position, everywhere », reports the still factory driver Ducati. " There are many changes of direction. You cannot brake before turning or accelerate only after getting up, you must always use the slope. In the morning I didn't have a particularly good feeling either, which is why I couldn't brake hard. And if you can't do that, especially with our motorcycle, then the turns will be difficult ».
“The first three quarters of FP1 were a disaster”
« After adjusting the settings, the following difficulty remained: you cannot use the power because the front wheel keeps lifting, especially on uphills and downhills. You have to work a lot with the bike and ride in a fairly unfamiliar way “, underlined the vice-world champion of the last three years.
What was Dovi's mind after the first round? “ It's better if I don't say anything about it “, he said, laughing. “ The feeling was miserable at first. The first three quarters of FP1 were a disaster, I didn't succeed at all. And there was no return of the motorcycle. We had to go in a direction with the set-up that we didn't expect and which is very extreme compared to what we had in Valencia or what we are used to. But we succeeded, it was a big step forward, I achieved my best time at the end of FP1 on worn tires ».
We will recall that it is Johann zarco on a Ducati GP19 which closed the first day of the Portuguese Grand Prix in the lead. To listen Dovizioso, the Frenchman deserves praise for this performance and this performance…
MotoGP Portimao J1: times
