Dovizioso and Ducati must ‘regain feeling’ for Austria after Brno flop
Andrea Dovizioso says it is a ‘priority to regain feeling’ with his Ducati GP20 at the Red Bull Ring after suffering an unexpectedly below-par performance in the Czech Republic MotoGP.
The Italian was tipped as a favourite for the Brno race based on previous results, but after qualifying way down in 18th position he could only bring it home for a handful of points in 11th come race day.
With Johann Zarco – riding the year-old GP19 – qualifying on pole position and scoring a podium in Brno, the lacklustre results for all GP20 riders have shone a light on the current generation Ducati’s exposed lack of competitiveness.
As such, this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring could not come at a more critical moment as a circuit the manufacturer has dominated at for the past three seasons.
With this in mind, Dovizioso is confident of a stronger result but admits he isn’t making any predictions for the time being.
"The Czech GP has shown everyone how difficult it is to make predictions this year. Every race has a different story and so, although Ducati has achieved four successes at the Red Bull Ring in the last four years, now we have to think that our priority is to regain the feeling with the Desmosedici GP bike.
“It is in difficult times like this that we have to stick together, and I see the next race in Austria as a good opportunity. We have to keep calm and work as we've always done."
Similarly Danilo Petrucci – who qualified seventh but could only finish 13th in the Czech Republic – is desperate to ‘change the dynamic’ of his form.
"The race in Brno was disappointing because, honestly, I thought I would get a better result, especially after the good qualifying on Saturday. We are struggling to find the feeling with these tyres and have been inconsistent throughout the weekend.
“We must try to stay positive and work hard to change this dynamic. The only goal I set myself for the Austrian GP is to improve in each session, to get to have good feelings for the race. If we continue to work hard, our time will come.”
