MotoGP: Dovi less enamoured with new Ducati fairing

Andrea Dovizioso has admitted that he’s less enamoured than teammate Jorge Lorenzo with the new aerodynamic fairing the manufacturer introduced at the Czech Grand Prix to help combat the loss of their wings for 2017.

While Lorenzo was impressed with the performance the fairing delivered – believed to be around 40% the effect of the old fairing winglets – Dovi was less impressed when he finally tried them out during yesterday’s official one-day test following the race weekend.

“Today was a perfect day to do all the tests that we had planned. We had all the time that was necessary to evaluate the bike with the new fairing, and we managed to test it to the full and obtain some clear feedback.

“The guys in Ducati Corse have done a really great job, because it was not easy to recreate the effects of the winglets with the new regulations, but as always there are pros and cons in riding and feel. In my opinion it will be useful at certain tracks and I think that it could give us a good advantage in Austria.”

However, the mood in the Ducat camp was good all round after a stronger weekend for them than the results reflected, with Lorenzo also pleased with the further progress that he made during the outing.

“Today was perhaps the most important day of the year for me. I had an excellent feeling with the bike and am very satisfied. Already in the race weekend we were very competitive but today we improved even more: it’s true that the track was probably in a better condition than the previous days, but we found some set-up solutions that are better for my riding style and they allowed me to push even harder and go even quicker. My feeling with the new fairing continues to be very good, because it gives me more confidence in the front.”