Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) sat down with motogp.com recently to talk about where the Borgo Panigale factory is – with the ban on winglets and the arrival of Jorge Lorenzo on the other side of the garage two of the key talking points for the Italian marque this season.
Andrea Dovizioso: “We are not as competitive as we expected. We changed something small on the bike but the bike is very similar to last year’s, and without winglets. So it’s very important to have the right feedback to understand and to confirm the negative points of the bike, where we have to improve to really fight for the Championship.”
Talking of feedback, the arrival of Lorenzo to the factory has been a positive for his Italian teammate - with the limitations and the scope for results confirmed and an obvious direction appearing:
AD04: “I feel we did a great job but we didn’t fix our limits from last year. That’s why I’m not surprised about the situation we are in now. Turning is one of the points for sure, and especially with the feedback and the arrival of Jorge this has become a little bit stronger but it’s not something new for me. I’ve had a lot of teammates, and like I said last year I’m very happy about Jorge’s arrival because he has won a lot, he is one of the best riders in the world. It showed to a lot of people some limits of the bike. Many people thought maybe some riders could perform better with this bike but I don’t think it’s possible at the moment. Jorge showed the reality, and I’m happy for this because it can give us the possibility to put more effort in a different place than where we have been working in the last few years to improve the bike.”
Now it’s Le Mans, with Dovizioso currently fifth in the Championship – and Lorenzo on the podium last time out as the red machines continue their fight to take it to the front.