Two days of private MotoGP testing organized by Ducati at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Zeltweg, in view of the next round of the championship – the Austrian GP on August 14th – have concluded successfully for the Ducati Team.

A total of 21 riders and test-riders from all the manufacturers involved in the championship were present to get a first look at the renovated Austrian circuit.

Both yesterday and today the Ducati Team riders were the quickest men out on track, and this evening the final standings saw Andrea Iannone top the times ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, with two-time world champion Casey Stoner, present as the team’s test-rider, in third place.

During the second day Michele Pirro, the official tester for the Ducati Team, also went out on track for a few laps.

Iannone was the quickest man on track, with a best time of 1’23.240, followed four-tenths behind by Dovizioso in 1’23.680. Despite a crash at Turn 6 five minutes from the end, Stoner was classified in third place, with a best lap of 1’23.865.

The MotoGP teams and riders will be back again at the Zeltweg circuit in twenty days’ time for the tenth round of the world championship.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’23.240 (1st)
“It was a very positive test. I am happy that we finished it in this way with the best time, because in the two days we always lapped very quickly and we worked very well: yesterday we tried for the first time the new chassis, which gave me some very positive sensations. Today we focused on working on some different bike set-up solutions, with good results and I can say that a result like this is the best possible way to go on holiday!”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’23.680 (2nd)
“These were two days of very positive tests for us, we worked hard on many different aspects of the bike, as well as preparing for the race in the best possible way. Here we have been really competitive, it’s great to do two days of testing before the race because it gives you the chance of working on fine-tuning aspects and I know that we can still improve there. I am very pleased with my Desmosedici GP on this track, because we can exploit our potential to the maximum and I believe that we can be really competitive in the race.”

Casey Stoner (Ducati Team #27) – 1’23.865 (3rd)
“We had quite a positive day but really didn’t get a lot of laps in because the Test Team had to put Michele Pirro on the bike to do some testing this afternoon. We did lots of short runs to change the bike all the time, did a couple of comparisons in the chassis, and we adjusted and moved everything around a bit to get the bike more stable under brakes on a good track. I’m happy and satisfied but also a bit disappointed towards the end because it was the first time I had to push in four years with a soft tyre and it didn’t go well as I crashed at Turn 6. I’m pretty happy with the hard tyre, and the bike felt good, even though in both days we were still using the previous chassis, but I think we can lap even better with the new version.”

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