The Ducati Team pulled off a fantastic 1-2 win at the Autodromo del Mugello today, with its riders finishing first and second. Jorge Lorenzo, who got a perfect start from the front row, dominated the Italian Grand Prix from the first to the last lap, thus scoring his first win on a Ducati. Second place went to Andrea Dovizioso, who started from the third row. The Italian crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in fifth place and then got close to Lorenzo on lap 7, but he was unable to attack his team-mate and on the last lap had to defend the runner-up slot from Rossi, who was third at the chequered flag.
Thanks to this result, Dovizioso has moved up into fourth place in the standings with 66 points, while Lorenzo now lies in tenth with 41 points.
The MotoGP World Championship will be back in action again in two weeks’ time at Montmeló, on the outskirts of Barcelona, for the Catalan GP scheduled for 15th to 17th June.
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1st
“I am very happy! Yesterday I said that winning at Mugello with Ducati was a dream for me and today this dream came true. It’s one of the most special wins of my entire career, probably on the same level as my first win in 125 in 2003 and in MotoGP in 2008. I’m really thrilled about it and pleased for the team, because it was fantastic to score this victory on Ducati’s home track after a very challenging weekend. This morning I realized that we could do it and, even though I was worried about the performance of the tyres, I decided to push right from the start, in my usual style, and everything went perfectly. I couldn’t ask for anything more and we will have to celebrate this win in a big way. I haven’t managed to win a race for a long time and I did it my way. I’ve been through some difficult moments but I’ve always believed I could do it, I could see that every time we were closer and closer and in the end we did it!”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd
“To tell the truth I expected more than a second place today, but in the end we found that the conditions were hotter in the race than yesterday and so we had a few doubts about the choice of front tyre. Rossi and I made a cautionary selection, opting to fit the harder tyre, but unfortunately it didn’t work well. Valentino almost crashed a couple of times in front of me and when I tried to push to catch Jorge, I wasn’t fast enough in corner entry and as a result through the corners as well. In addition I used up the rear tyre and at the end of the race I also had to manage this problem. In any case we scored a good second place and reduced the gap to Marquez in the standings. I want to congratulate Jorge, who did a superb race and was very good and precise in managing the tyres to perfection.”
Claudio Domenicali (CEO of Ducati Motor Holding)
“I’m very happy for Jorge’s victory because he is an extraordinary guy who until today had never really been able to demonstrate his great talent on a Ducati. Today we saw the real Lorenzo: the guys in the team were very good at finding an ideal combination and he knew how to interpret it for the best. Jorge ran a great race in his own style, one of those in which no one stands a chance. I’m also pleased about Andrea’s second place, because with this fantastic 1-2 win at Mugello we have scored our best-ever result on the Tuscany track. Our two factory bikes ahead of everybody is just reward for all the work of everyone in the factory and in Ducati Corse, and in general of the whole of Ducati which is making an extraordinary effort to grow even further, and I think that this great day is also payback for more difficult races like the last two GPs.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“Above all, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who works in Ducati Corse and who with their efforts have contributed to the extraordinary success of Jorge and Andrea here at Mugello. I would like to have them all here with us, to be able to give them a big hug and share this incredible result with them.”
