The third round of the 2014 MotoGP season in Argentina was a tough one for Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Michele Pirro, who concluded the third GP of the season at the new Termas de Rio Hondo circuit respectively in ninth and seventeenth place.
At the start of the race Dovizioso was immediately in amongst the battle for the leading positions, and he crossed the line on lap 2 in second place, but then problems with his front tyre meant that he was overtaken by his rivals over the next few laps.
Pirro on the other hand was never able to find the right feeling with his Desmosedici GP14 during the weekend and struggled throughout the 25 laps of the Argentinean race.
After the first three GPs of the season, Dovizioso however is still in fourth place in the overall standings on 34 points.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th
“It was a very tough race, to be honest I didn’t think it would go like that. I was a bit unlucky because I also had a problem with the engine, when oil came out and led to a loss of some power. I also think I made the wrong choice of front tyre because I was unable to brake and put pressure on the front wheel, neither under braking nor in the curve, and turn-in was slow as well. The race sort of went a bit wrong for me today, and it just confirms that we still have to improve a lot to be able to stay with the others.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 17th
“It was a disappointing result, after I had finally managed to find a good feeling with the bike during the warm-up. In the race unfortunately I made several mistakes and lost contact with the group that went from tenth to fifteenth place. It’s a pity, because my lap times towards the end were very close to theirs. Now I hope to make a big step forward at Jerez next week.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“After the result in qualifying, we had hoped for something better in the race. Unfortunately Dovizioso, after fighting with the leading group in the early laps, had a problem with his front tyre which forced him onto the defensive. We gained some consolation however from the excellent performance by Andrea Iannone who, on the team Pramac Desmosedici, ran a fast and tenacious race, demonstrating that the GP14’s competitive level has improved. We know we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us, but we are confident and optimistic about the next few races.”
