Andrea Dovizioso is not the type to worry about the ranking on a timesheet after three days of testing. However, the performance of his Ducati GP20 with the new Michelin rear tire is giving him headaches. This Sunday, at Sepang, he saw a solution, but the road will be long. You will have to stay the course and your composure, which will not be easy as the competition has intensified. Within this, DesmoDovi has spotted two potential favorites…
You have to convince yourself of this. The time when the Ducati sounded the charge of their mechanical cavalry to swallow their adversaries is over. Competitors have reacted and the equation is now more complicated to solve with particular parameters. Like, for example, tires… Andrea Dovizioso worked for three days Malaysia to build his GP20. And the work is still far from finished: “ I don't drive as I would like. But I'm happy with this Sunday because this morning we did some tests in race configuration, and we improved. »
« The day was important because in the first two days everyone was trying to push to find confidence with the new bike. This morning, they were more looking for rhythm and we saw that few manage to lap with a good rhythm. Only Miller and I had the fastest lap on the hardest tire and I think that's good news because it's the tire you get into rhythm with » analyzes Dovi who nevertheless adds: “ there is still nothing clear for the start of the championship. Viñales and Rins seem to be doing better but as we know, in racing it's something else, it's difficult to predict something given the new tires. »
« Analyzing these three days, it emerged that Rins and Viñales have the pace and that we are not far away. Ranking position matters little. Marquez is a little late but he will arrive, he will be 100% at the head of the group. What is important is to evaluate the pace after 8/9 laps because when you do two or three runs with the same tires you can keep a good pace. The whole difference is making them consecutive. »
« The bike we brought here is the same as in Valencia and Jerez, we chose it and that's it » adds the teammate Danilo Petrucci. " Certainly it can be improved, but honestly, tire management is very important. We can work on it every time we go out on the track. For other improvements, for example on the chassis, it will take time. »
Exactly, who has this damn new tire? “ Today my feelings with the tires have improved a lot. It's not easy because they give us more grip, which is generally a good thing, but it changes the way you ride a lot. I'm struggling a bit with tire management. These are strange and different tires, Malaysia is a good track for testing but the conditions are at the limit. We have to do more tests on another track, in Qatar we will try even if it will be the last chance before the season. »
« I have to adapt to change which is not a simple detail. At the maximum bending angle there is not much grip, as we have for example in traction. Coming into the corner the rear pushes the front differently than last year and this can cause us problems, I'm working on it and I think there is room for improvement » ends DesmoDovi on GP One.
MotoGP, Sepang J3 Test: times
Credit motogp.com
