Both Ducati Team riders finished inside the top 10 on the first day of practice for the Dutch TT, round 8 of the MotoGP World Championship which is being held this weekend at the Assen circuit.
At the end of the second free practice session, Andrea Dovizioso had set a time of 1’33.859 to take sixth place on his Desmosedici GP18, while his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who set a lap time of 1’33.870, ended the day in seventh.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04): 6th (1’33.859)
“Today was a positive first day: we started off well in the morning and this afternoon we made a further step forward. I’m pleasantly surprised because half-way through the session we lapped with a very good pace and to be honest I didn’t really expect that, seeing as it’s never easy here at Assen. There are a lot of fast riders out there, but we are fast as well and this was the main aim for today. Now we must continue to work on several aspects that can make all the difference in the race, while on my quick lap I could have done better but I encountered a lot of traffic.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99): 7th (1’33.870)
“It wasn’t a particularly brilliant day because we weren’t up amongst the quickest riders, but I’m quite happy with my sensations and I think we have a wide margin for improvement. At the moment our weak point is the final sector, where I still have to understand what the right line is so I can be as quick as the leading guys, and also with the set-up we will have to modify a few details, because the bike is a bit unstable in the fast corners. We still have a lot of work to do but we know we have the potential to be competitive.”
