Davide Tardozzi – Team Manager, Ducati Team – says the Borgo Panigale factory is feeling positive in the wake of the first Official Test of the year at Sepang International Circuit, with testing direction led by Andrea Dovizioso as new arrival Jorge Lorenzo settles into life in red.
The Italian squad topped Day 1 with test rider Casey Stoner, were fourth overall on combined times with Andrea Dovizioso as the Italian hit back, and had Jorge Lorenzo up into the top ten and below the two-minute barrier by the session’s end – with the story behind the timesheets also a positive one in terms of development and direction.
Davide Tardozzi: “So far we are very happy because with Dovi we have had a good test sharing some parts of the bike from last year and this year, and got good improvements. He showed us which way to go for the next test in Phillip Island. And then Jorge started to understand how to ride the Ducati and he understood the Ducati is quite different to his former bike. Now he’s started to push a bit to find the limit. He’s still not happy with his riding but has time to grow.
“With Dovi we’d like to confirm the good things we found here in Sepang, and with Jorge we’d like to finalise some things we did such as his ergonomic position on the bike. Sepang is not the same as Valencia but now he’s starting to feel comfortable on the bike and he can push.”