It was a difficult race today at the MotorLand circuit for the two riders of the Ducati Team, as Andrea Dovizioso and Michele Pirro finished the Aragón GP in eleventh and twelfth place respectively.
After a positive morning warm-up, in which he finished fourth, Dovizioso got a good start away from the second row and was scrapping in amongst the leading group in the early laps. Unfortunately the Italian started to suffer a drop in front tyre grip and then a worsening vibration on his Desmosedici GP, so had to slow his pace. In the last few laps he lost several positions and finished the fourteenth round of the season in eleventh place.
Michele Pirro, who finished his warm-up in an encouraging ninth place, was unable to make a good start and he crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in fifteenth place. The Italian then also began to suffer an unusual vibration with his bike but he managed to gain a few positions to finish his race in twelfth place.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 11th
“I feel pretty bad about the result today because we worked well throughout the weekend: after a very good Saturday, in which we found a very good race pace, and qualifying on the second row with fourth-quickest time, I was sure that we could have fought for the podium. This morning in the warm-up we confirmed that we were at the same competitive level and we were ready to score a good result in the race. Unfortunately after four laps the front tyre began to lose grip, creating a number of problems, and then I started to feel a strong vibration. Obviously I had to slow down my pace, especially because I was worried about the situation, and I lost a lot of positions in the last few laps. Now we have to try and understand the reasons together with Michelin. The fact remains that we had been working well throughout the weekend and ending the race in eleventh place is really disappointing.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 12th
“The weekend was a bit complicated for me: I missed the first session on Friday and we had a few problems yesterday so I wasn’t able to qualify well and had to start down the grid. Today’s aim was to finish in the top 10 but unfortunately the battle in the early stages forced me to make some mistakes in overtaking and from half-way through the race the bike began to have a big vibration, but seeing as I didn’t have a chance of catching the guys ahead of me, I just tried to finish my race. I’m disappointed about the result because in my opinion we had the potential to finish in the top 10.”
