Dovizioso discusses RC212V and progress of rival Lorenzo

A highly consistent performer throughout his MotoGP debut campaign in 2008 Andrea Dovizioso has had a lot on his plate over the winter.

Injuries to his new team-mate Dani Pedrosa, a reduced testing calendar restricting his own time on track, the switch to Bridgestone tyres and his first opportunity to develop a MotoGP machine have all meant extra pressure for the Italian star.

Dovizioso will be working as hard as ever this weekend at the Official MotoGP Test but he still found time to talk to motogp.com on Saturday in Jerez. Explaining the complexities of fine tuning his latest generation Honda 800cc prototype he said, “It’s not easy when you change the bike. You need to try and understand the set-up of the bike because it can vary a lot. The chassis changes and the power changes, so the riding position always changes, like with the handle bars, the seat position and the angle of the seat.”

Discussing the differences between the 2008 satellite and factory RC212Vs and the 2009 RC212V factory machine, all of which he has ridden in the last six months, the 23 year-old stated, “On certain points, certain parts, there are differences, but on other points there is not a big contrast. For example, with the power, there is a big, big step and the stability of the front end makes a big difference, but the instability on the rear is similar. Also, we have some problems with the clutch and that is very similar to my 2008 bike.”

Dovizioso went on to outline the main improvements he wants to make to the bike saying, “The main problem is on corner entry, but I think that is just because of the instability of the bike and the chassis. And we also need to improve the power delivery from the engine.”

Asked about his rival Jorge Lorenzo’s apparently swift adaptation to the 2009 Bridgestone tyres compared to his own move onto Japanese rubber, the Italian commented, “I think our situations are completely different. He has a different package and Valentino won by more than 100 points last year with that bike. Dani only did four races with Bridgestone last year on our bike, so we haven’t got enough data to understand the tyres 100% yet.”

“Jorge’s test performances have been strange, because for the first and second days in Qatar and also in Malaysia, he wasn’t so fast, but on the last day at Losail he got stronger. I don’t know his situation exactly, but it is not so easy to understand the Bridgestone tyres.”