There will be nine Ducati on the starting grid of the next Italian Grand Prix. Rider test for the manufacturer of Ducati, Michele Pirro will be wild-card in front of his Mugello audience. This will be his first race of the season, he took part in almost a dozen rounds in 2016, with a seventh place in Misano as the best result.
Since his first steps in the MotoGP category in 2012, Pirro has not stopped at the start of his Italian GP. He had qualified sixth in 2015, but never did better that seventh at the finish in 2013 edition. Last year, former Valencia GP winner managed to get into the top 10.
On the other hand, another Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso away from the enthusiasm that left the redesigned Barcelona layout discovered during the tests of the beginning of the week. Ducati team is now preparing for Dovizioso national rendezvous at Mugello on June 2. A week later, he will find Catalonia and the worries he left behind.
At Ducati team, the first part of season is for the moment much less exciting than the present vintage, the arrival of Jorge Lorenzo from Yamaha has for the moment nothing upset. Worse, the GP17 without fins can hardly take off and reach the peaks of his predecessor.
Dovizioso remains the mainspring of the reds and their course. He knows the machine, his past generations, how the team works and he has the legitimacy to say what he really thinks. After having made his 123 laps on the new track of Catalonia and finished his task with a modest 1’45.067 as better performance, he did hide that this course in Barcelona will be easy to negotiate.
“This track has always been complicated for Ducati. It was therefore essential to confront them. My best time is not great, but my overall pace was interesting,” Dovizioso told media.
Andrea Dovizioso finished fourth at Le Mans Grand Prix but still has a poor form in recent weeks. (Source:www.ducati.com.ph)
And three laps, it’s still not much. This is another concern that adds to that the front tire. On new Michelin product, Dovizioso remains dubious. “This new carcass does not change our problem in turns, Michelin is very busy at the moment, with lots of tires,” Dovizioso told.
