A sixth place finish and a retirement were the results of the two Ducati Team riders in today’s Italian Grand Prix at the Mugello circuit, where the sixth round of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship was held.
Andrea Dovizioso began the 23-lap race well, with a good start from eighth on the grid and at the end of lap 1 he crossed the line in fourth place. For several laps the Italian managed to stay with the leading group, but he was then passed by three more riders and he remained almost all the race in seventh place. During the last lap however Dovi managed to pass his fellow Ducati rider Andrea Iannone to finish in sixth.
His team-mate Cal Crutchlow, who started from row 2, was on the other hand forced to retire after a crash on lap 4. The British rider was in eighth place when he lost the front and slid down the track. His GP14 machine then hit Bradl’s bike, causing the German to retire.
Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro finished his race in eleventh place. The Italian focussed mainly on bringing his GP14 ‘lab’ bike to the chequered flag.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 6th
“I think I did as much as I could today in the race. In the end we didn’t go that bad, considering the gap from the leaders: we managed to improve our race time by three and a half seconds over last year’s, and this is a positive fact. The race at Mugello, as always, was really tough but that’s what makes it great. It was a really tough battle with Pedrosa, Espargarò and Iannone. I was helped a lot by the horsepower we had on the straight, and I did some great braking moves at the San Donato curve. In the end we brought home the best result that we could have obtained today.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – DNF
“I’m obviously very disappointed to only last three laps, especially in Ducati’s home race at Mugello. We found a good set-up in the morning warm-up and we were able to be competitive in the early stages of the race. Unfortunately I pushed a little too hard in one of the chicanes and lost the front. We need to look at the best way to go forward from Barcelona with the settings and the bike and make me feel more comfortable.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 11th
“I managed to finish the race and this is important because at Jerez I didn’t finish, and here we had to obtain important data on some technical solutions we fitted to my GP14. For this reason I tried not to make any mistakes and to finish the race at all costs. For sure I could have got a tenth place and in fact I had even hoped for something better. A big thanks to the team for the job they did and I hope that I’ll be able to get a better result in a couple of weeks’ time at Barcelona.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Obviously today’s results are below expectations, especially at this circuit which is like a home track for Ducati. Unfortunately Cal lost the front in the early stages, while Andrea gave his all but was unable to fight for the positions he would have liked. We must be patient: we know we still have to improve a lot, but we will work hard and we are confident for the future.”
