Andrea Dovizioso reflects on forgettable Jerez race

The final standings in Jerez didn’t make pleasant reading for factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso after the Italian struggled to a dismal eighth place.

Dovizioso had not expected an easy Spanish MotoGP experience but he had not anticipated the 27-lap race being such a tough affair too as he took the chequered flag a massive 41.8s behind winner Dani Pedrosa’s factory Honda RC213V.

He was outclassed by teammate Nicky Hayden too, who despite riding with severe swelling in his right wrist caused by a mystery injury flare up, managed to finish 16 seconds faster.

Dovizioso held his hand up and admitted he had not ridden well but he also added that the result demonstrated just how far Ducati’s factory Desmosedici has to improve.

“I knew that the weekend would be hard at this track with our bike, but it was a little bit harder than what I expected, especially in the race, “said the former 125GP world champion. “But this is the reality.  In the race my riding wasn’t so good and the confirmation of this is the gap with Nicky.  We must remember Nicky was always fast in this track with all bikes, he is riding very hard and in a good way with this bike.  But no excuses from me and for sure I have to try and understand how to better use the potential of this bike. We have to forget this weekend. We knew it was going to be difficult but it was just to confirm and nothing new came out of this.”
Severe understeer remains the Ducati’s number one weakness and Dovizioso is due to be testing a new frame in Jerez today as Bologna technical staff desperately seek a solution to the long-running issue.
Dovizioso added: “The main problem is always the same and until we improve our limit it is difficult to make a good race. When the feeling is bad the gap becomes bigger and that is the reason I am so far behind. We have the same bike as last year, so the limit of our bike everybody can see.  The main problem of the bike is turning but we have both small and big problems. All together they make a big gap. It is bad to see that but it didn’t happen for the first time. To explain the 41 seconds, it is because of many things. This track is not the best for me and my line in this track is not the best.  The tyre was soft but everyone had to manage this low grip so when you don’t have a good feeling and the perfect line it becomes worse. It is normal to have a big gap in our situation.”