After remaining in second position for a long time for most of this first day of testing, Andrea Dovizioso finished in fourth place in 1'30.945, 0.148 behind Cal Crutchlow's best time. He ranked between the two official Hondas, 0.033 behind Marc Marquez and 0.015 ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
The day was very studious for Dovi and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, each with two Desmosedici GP18s, Ducati having decided to leave the GP17s in Bologna. They were trying out the new aerodynamic package made available to them by Luigi Dall'Igna and his team, hoping to have enough information for the first Grand Prix which will take place in Qatar.
The first day allowed us to see the effects of the new fairing on the current chassis, but recently manufactured parts will be mounted this Saturday on the chassis for comparison, which will not make the task of the drivers easier. “ I hope we have enough time » worried Dovi at the end of the first day.
To Andrea Dovizioso, who are " The Buriram track is very unusual and it was not easy to get used to its layout. I like this track, I didn't look at the lap times, but it quickly became clear that Márquez and I understood the track faster than the others.
“But it's not important because there are still two days of testing, and everyone has time to understand the track and improve. The circuit seems simple, but it is no less bizarre, which is why it took some riders longer to achieve a good time.
“It's an unusual track: in the last section you have to drive very precisely in the corners, which is not so simple: it's about controlling the throttle and sliding. There are three or four places where you can overtake.
“There are three corners that are practically hairpins and the rest is pretty straightforward. It's a pretty slow track for our bike, but it's always interesting to try new circuits. I'm happy with the feeling of the bike, we did well from the start and we focused on different tests, especially with the new fairings, but tomorrow we should have more detailed feedback on these new components.
“We are working on the fairing, which is very difficult work. There are always things you prefer depending on your riding style. Deciding on aerodynamics is incredibly difficult. Depending on the track, a different fairing may be better. It's very, very, very, very difficult. Today we spent an hour and a half on this work. Saturday we'll dive into the details. We need to do more rounds with each spec to get more information. »
Results of the first day:
1. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, 1'30,797
2. Alex Rins, Suzuki, +0,012
3. Marc Marquez, Honda, 0,115
4. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, +0,148
5. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, +0,163
6. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0,206
7. Jack Miller, Ducati, +0,247
8. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,392
9. Andrea Iannone, Suzuki, +0,438
10. Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati, +0,449
11. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +0,497
12. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, +0,508
13. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +0,726
14. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +0,728
15. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +0,865
16. Scott Redding, Aprilia, +0,888
17. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +0,895
18. Karel Abraham, Ducati, +0,901
19. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +0,932
20. Bradley Smith, KTM, +0,944
21. Tom Lüthi, Honda, +1,919
22. Xavier Siméon, Ducati, +1,923
23. Mika Kallio, KTM, +1,952
24. Hafizh Syahrin, Yamaha, +2,368
Photos © Ducati
