Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow of the Ducati Team had no luck in the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit today, both men falling foul to technical problems on their bikes that affected their eventual results.
Dovizioso powered away well from row 2 at the start of the 20-lap race and was third at the end of the opening lap. On the next lap the Italian was passed by Marquez, but was comfortably able to hold on to fourth place for 14 laps, with a safe lead over Bradl. A problem with his Desmosedici however forced him to slow and he lost a few positions, eventually finishing the race in eighth place.
Crutchlow also got a good start from the third row to find himself sixth behind Bradl, but on lap 5 his GP14’s engine suddenly cut out with an electrical problem and the bike came to a halt, forcing the British rider into retirement.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th
“Pity about the problem: every time I opened the gas the engine stuttered and I had to slow down. Hopefully this will be useful when it comes to improving things for next year. I am quite happy with the way my race was going, because we know that the top four riders are difficult to catch at the moment. This weekend we did a great job: we improved in every session and in my opinion, did the best that can be done with this bike. Above all I was keeping a constant pace, which was what interested me the most, because on this track it’s very difficult.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – DNF
“Obviously I’m really disappointed, because I felt we had a great pace for the race. We knew from this morning’s warm-up that the pace on the completely used tyre was better than what the guys were doing ahead of me after five laps so I was confident I could have at least finished in the top 4 today. But this is racing, we had an electrical problem and the engine stopped. It’s disappointing, but now we have to come back in Valencia and ride as best as possible.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“To be honest we expected a bit more from this race, because both Andrea and Cal today were in a position to obtain two good results. Now we have to analyze the problems that we had in the race to find a solution in view of next year.”
