Both Ducati Team riders had a good race today at the MotorLand circuit in Spain. Andrea Iannone finished the Aragón GP in fourth place, less than eight seconds behind the winner Jorge Lorenzo, while his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was one place behind in fifth.
Iannone, who started from the front row of the grid in third place, got off to a good start and was third at the end of lap 1. After Marquez crashed out on the following lap, he moved up to second, but was then passed by Pedrosa and Rossi over the next two laps. Iannone then remained in fourth place until the chequered flag. Thanks to today’s results, Iannone is still fourth overall in the standings, but has reduced the gap to Marquez to just 12 points.
Dovizioso, who started from row 5 in the thirteenth grid slot, managed to get an excellent start and made up numerous places on the opening lap, which he finished in seventh. The man from Forlì then continued to move up through the field over the next three laps and crossed the line on lap 4 in fifth. Dovizioso remained in that position until the flag, holding off attacks from Bradley Smith and Aleix Espargaro. Dovizioso is still sixth in the overall standings, but his gap to Smith is now reduced to just four points.
Ducati and the Ducati Team continue to lie third in both the Constructors’ and Teams’ standings.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 4th
“In spite of my physical condition, we did a good race, but I am a bit disappointed I was unable to stay with Pedrosa and Rossi. I thought I had their pace and that I could fight with them, but they were always quicker than me by a couple of tenths, which mirrored the lap times we recorded during FP4. I would have liked to be able to fight for the podium, because my team is working really hard and it’s important to get encouraging results for the whole squad. I gave my all, despite the fact that my shoulder was hurting, and I have to thank the guys in the Clinica Mobile because they gave me some pain-killing injections that eliminated the pain during the first part of the race.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th
“Let’s say that I am pleased and not pleased at the same time. With the race pace that I had, I think I managed to bring home the best possible result, but this doesn’t make me happy. For sure we have to work to improve the bike, because I am unable to brake and ride the way I want, and as a result I am not as fast as I would like to be. If I look at today’s race however, considering that I was starting from thirteenth on the grid, finishing fifth is a good result.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Today our riders brought home a fourth and a fifth place, two good results that give us encouragement for the next races. Andrea Iannone had an excellent race: he fought through the pain barrier and always lapped at a constant pace, not far away from the riders who finished on the podium, and this result helps him to stay in the fight for third position in the world championship. It was a more difficult race for Andrea Dovizioso, who despite having a rather arduous weekend, was able to score a good result for the classification.”
