After three races in the month of August, the Ducati Team is now back on Italian soil again for the thirteenth round of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship. The TIM San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP will in fact be taking place this weekend at Misano World Circuit, the Adriatic Riviera track that is situated just one hour away from the Ducati factory at Borgo Panigale.
Andrea Dovizioso comes to Misano off the back of a good performance at Silverstone, in which he battled for the podium with Rossi and Pedrosa right until the very end, finishing the race less than ten seconds behind winner Marquez. The Forlimpopoli-born rider however has never managed to step onto the podium in the six times he has raced at Misano in MotoGP since 2008, his best result being a fourth place in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Cal Crutchlow has only raced in the San Marino round three times, and his best result was sixth place last year.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)
“Even though I won my first race there on big bikes, Misano is not one of my favourite circuits, but this grand prix is also our second ‘home race’, so I’m sure the fans will be an extra help! It will be not easy to confirm our Silverstone performance, but we had the opportunity to do a good test at Misano before we went to the UK, so we are going there in an optimistic mood.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35)
“I’m looking forward to Misano, we had a good test there a couple of weeks ago and I felt we found some positives so hopefully this will help for the race weekend. It’s another home of Ducati, and being in Italy we have many fans coming to the race so I look forward to improving on the Silverstone result and doing a good job with the team.”
EICMA centenary on track with Ducati
The Ducati Team’s Desmosedici GP14 machines of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow will be carrying the symbol of ‘100 years of EICMA’ this weekend. During the TIM San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP at Misano, Ducati have again made a space available for EICMA on the front fairings of their red GP14 machines, providing further visibility for the 100th anniversary of the EICMA show, which will be held from 4 to 9 November at the Rho-Milano Trade Fair.
The Misano World Circuit
Built in 1972, the Misano circuit was a venue for GP races in the 80s and 90s before dropping off the calendar for fourteen years. After a number of modifications to improve the infrastructure and a change in the track direction, Misano returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2007. As always for a ‘home’ round, the Ducati Team riders can count on the support of numerous fans present in the Ducati Grandstand.
Fastest lap: 2011 Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’33.906 (162.0 km/h)
Qualifying: 2013 Marquez (Honda) 1’32.915 (163.7 km/h)
Track length: 4.266 km
Race length: 28 laps (118.3 km)
Corners: 16 (6 left, 10 right)
Race start: 2 pm (GMT +2)
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14
Race number: 04
Age: 28 (born on 23 March 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 216 (118 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: 2001 Italian GP (125cc)
Wins: 10 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First win: 2004 South African GP (125cc)
Poles: 14 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)
First pole: 2003 French GP (125cc)
World titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)
Cal Crutchlow
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14
Race number: 35
Age: 28 (born on 29 October 1985 in Coventry, UK)
Residence: Isle of Man
Races: 63 (63 x MotoGP)
First GP: 2011 Qatar
Poles: 2
First pole: 2013 Assen TT
