The San Marino Grand Prix weekend got off to a positive start for the Ducati Team riders. After the first day of practice, which ended up with Danilo Petrucci in provisional pole with the Desmosedici GP of the Pramac Racing Team, Andrea Dovizioso was classified in third place with a time of 1’33.294 and his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished eighth in 1’33.614. It was a good practice also for Michele Pirro, test-rider for the Ducati Test Team and racing at Misano as a wild-card, who finished in seventh with a time of 1’33.591.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’33.294 (3rd)
“I’m pleased with the job we did today, even though we found conditions that were different from the test so we had to revise our set-up. In any case we’ve got a good pace, but I haven’t yet found the perfect feeling with my bike. We are in line with the quickest guys, but I’m sure that many riders will go quicker tomorrow, so we’ll have to work to our best to remain in the group of top riders tomorrow.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’33.614 (8th)
“It was rather a difficult day today because after the rain that fell last night, the track conditions changed a lot and there is a lot less grip than in the test three weeks ago. I hope the track will improve tomorrow, but in any case we have to work hard to adapt the bike to the new conditions.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 1’33.591 (7th)
“It was a positive day and even though the conditions changed a lot between the morning and the afternoon, we managed to carry out our set-up work programme in view of the race. However we still have to modify something in the electronics and the suspension because we are finding a lot less grip than in the test we did here in August. I’m confident for tomorrow and I hope to do a good qualifying.”
