Both Ducati Team men had positive races in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, round 11 of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship held at the Brno circuit. Andrea Iannone finished fourth overall, despite a problem that hampered the performance of his Desmosedici GP15, while Andrea Dovizioso was classified sixth after holding on to fifth place until the final lap.
Dovizioso powered away well at the start and crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in third place. The man from Forlì, who was then passed by Rossi on the following lap, held on to fourth place until lap 8, when he was overtaken by his teammate.
The two Italians then held on to fourth and fifth places until the final lap, during which Dovizioso was passed by Pedrosa with just a few corners to go before the chequered flag.
In the Riders’ standings, Iannone remains fourth on 142 points, while Dovizioso is still in sixth position with 104. Ducati are third in the Constructors’ table, with 167 points.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 4th
“Today we have to be optimistic about the result because I believe I did the best I could do. It was a race in which I could have fought for the podium and so we really have to find out what happened, seeing as my engine didn’t have as much sprint as it did during the rest of the weekend. I was losing a lot on the straights and so I had to make up time by pushing too hard with the braking. In any case I am pleased to have obtained this result despite the problem, because it means that we have reached an excellent set-up on my GP15. Together with the team we have been able to improve the bike in each session and we have done an incredible job. Finally we are back to being competitive again and this gives us a lot of motivation for the next few races.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 6th
“I am quite satisfied with how the race went today because before the start I didn’t have a great feeling with my GP15 and I was quite some way off the race pace. However we must find out how to improve the front because the bike does not turn the way we would like it to: this is a big handicap because I am not able to push hard, and that is what happened to me today in the race. Next week we will be testing at Misano which will surely also be useful to try and solve these problems ”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Today Iannone did a great race, fighting right until the very end, and I am really sorry about the final result because he had a problem with the engine of his GP15 that limited the performance somewhat. Unfortunately there was a glitch with the variable trumpet intake system and this led to the loss of some power: we calculated that Iannone probably lost a couple of tenths a lap, and so we lost a great chance to be up front and try to get onto the podium. In any case I believe that the positive outcome of this weekend is that here at Brno we finally found our competitiveness again. Pity about Dovizioso, who unfortunately never found the right feeling with his bike, but next week we will do a test at Misano before leaving for Silverstone, which will help us prepare for our home GP in the best possible way and in any case we remain optimistic for the next few races.”
