After second place in the opening round of the 2015 MotoGP season in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso confirmed his current run of good form and the competitiveness of the Ducati Desmosedici GP15 in the Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin, in Texas, where he again finished runner-up. The Ducati Team rider rode an aggressive race, getting the holeshot from the starting grid and leading for the first four laps, before being passed by Marc Marquez who went on to win the race.
Dovizioso was then involved in an exciting battle with Rossi, who passed him on lap 8, but he remained right behind his compatriot, getting past on lap 16 and administering his advantage until the chequered flag. Thanks to this second successive runner-up slot, Dovizioso is now second in the championship, just one point behind Rossi.
Team-mate Andrea Iannone, who started from row 3, also had a good race. After starting well, the man from Vasto in Southern Italy unfortunately lost touch with the leaders on the opening lap when he had to avoid being caught up in the crash between Redding and Pol Espargarò. He then began a good recovery, passing Aleix Espargarò, Jorge Lorenzo and Bradley Smith, and reached fourth place behind Dovizioso on lap 8.
Iannone tried to attack his team-mate, but after a few laps he had to slow his pace because of front tyre wear, and he was then passed by Lorenzo on lap 19 and had to settle for fifth. The Ducati Team man now lies in fourth place overall in the Riders’ standings.
Thanks to today’s results, Ducati are second in the Constructors’ table, just one point behind Yamaha, and the Ducati Team are equal first in the special Teams’ classification.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd
“Today was a superb race and I take enormous personal satisfaction from it because here at Austin the races are always special: on this circuit you have to administer your energy, your tyres and your pace, something that does not happen in other circuits. I am particularly pleased with the work of my team because on a completely different track from Losail we confirmed that the GP15 is competitive and we managed to improve during the weekend. This year we have already had two great races, but we must continue to work because we’re still lacking a bit of fine-tuning in braking and traction, small improvements that will make the difference when it comes to fighting for the top positions at every circuit.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 5th
“All things considered it was a positive weekend, even though I am not very happy with my fifth place. Today it was difficult to obtain anything more, because I lost a lot of time at the start when Redding crashed in front of me. Then I had to push hard to make up the four-second gap from the leaders and it was not very easy. I had to push a lot at the front and on the tyres in general, and inevitably I paid for that in the last five laps. It was a pity, but in any case I am happy to have a competitive bike that every Sunday can fight for the podium and which allows me to stay up at the front with the top riders, and I am bringing home some important results.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“For sure today was another great race for our team, and Dovizioso’s runner-up position is even sweeter than the one in Qatar. We made a courageous decision to use a softer front tyre than almost everyone else, convinced that the problem was not due to the tyre but to riding style. Dovi was really good and he was capable of managing the race intelligently by trying to spare the front tyre. He was then incisive at the right moment and managed to bring home a great result. Iannone also ran a good race and was very quick on the track. I think that he too could have fought for the podium had he not had to push hard in the opening laps, when he had to fight to pass several riders before catching the leading group, and towards the end of the race he then had problems with the front tyre. Now we are going to Argentina where we will try and confirm the good performances of the first two rounds of the championship at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.”
