Dovizioso back on track after difficult Brno

‘DesmoDovi’ twists knee as he and Iannone prepare for the San Marino GP

Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone were back to work on Tuesday following the Czech GP, as the Ducati Team put in a day of private testing at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Not taking part in the official post-Brno test, the team instead focused on some preparations for the upcoming Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at Misano.

Both Dovizioso and Iannone suffered with tyre wear in the Czech GP, with Iannone moving back from the lead to eventually cross the line in P8. ‘DesmoDovi’ suffered similar issues but much earlier in the race, forcing the Italian’s retirement after trying to continue on his second machine. After the historic 1-2 for the team in the Austrian GP, Dovizioso was left disappointed after an incredible start to the race in Brno, not scoring on his 250th consecutive GP start.

Andrea Dovizioso (DNF): “I feel really bad about the way the things went in the race because I was very competitive and was in a position to get a good result. For the race we opted for the same tyres we had used in the morning warm-up and which, in very wet track conditions, had proved to be excellent. Before the race however it stopped raining and, even though the track stayed damp, the front tyre soon began to deteriorate in an abnormal way, so much so that I was forced to come into the pits. It was a real pity, because this was a great opportunity to score a good result and so I am a bit disheartened because I return home from Brno with no points.”

With perfect weather at Misano for a private test on Tuesday following the race in Brno, Dovizioso concluded the day after an incredible 93 laps, but suffered a small incident towards the end of the day when a crash at Turn 4 saw the Italian twist his right knee. He ended the day only 8 hundredths down on his compatriot with a fastest lap of 1:33.115, as Andrea Iannone completed 59 laps during the session, and set a fastest lap of 1:33.115 on his Desmosedici.

Both riders will be back on track for the Octo British Grand Prix at Silverstone on the 2nd September.