Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso were out on track on Friday at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain for the final test of the year before the traditional two-month ban comes into force. Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro, who lapped on Wednesday and Thursday, handed over the Desmosedici bikes to the two regular team riders who began testing shortly after midday.
The work mainly revolved around adapting the GP15 to the new Michelin tyres and perfecting the unified software that has been introduced for next season, as well as some modifications to the Desmosedici’s balance in view of 2016.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29), 1’39.6: “The test went well, because we always managed to improve our times on every exit and this is an important aspect. We worked on the bike set-up with the new tyres and I am pleased that we managed to adapt well. I can confirm what I said at Valencia: I like the way the Michelin tyres behave and I have a good feeling, so it has been a positive day. We never used a new tyre to set fast times, I did my best time of 1’39.6 on my final run with a tyre that had already done 26 laps.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04), 1’39.7: “The balance is very positive, especially if we compare it to the tests we did after Valencia. Ducati have done a lot of work in these three days. We made steps forward with the balance of the bike and, more importantly, we found a precise direction for development over the next two months. Of course there is still room for improvement from the point of view of the management of the tyres and the electronics, but we gathered a lot of positive feedback to enable us to prepare for the first tests of 2016 in the best possible way.”
These three days of testing at Jerez bring an end to the Ducati Team’s track activities this season. The next time that the riders go out on track will be from 1 to 3 February 2016 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia at the IRTA tests.
