Dovizioso bemoans ‘strange day’, feels slower than lap times
Andrea Dovizioso says he feels slower than the lap times he is recording at Misano after a ‘strange day’ put him on the back foot ahead of Saturday’s crucial San Marino MotoGP qualifying session.
Though the Italian spoke with confidence about his chances this weekend after a breakthrough with the setting on his Ducati GP20 in Austria, he would instead spend much of his Friday in and out of the pit lane making tweaks.
Complaining of being unable to find a comfortable setting, Dovizioso nonetheless managed to lift himself up to 11th on the timesheets by the FP2 chequered flag - the third highest non-Yamaha or KTM rider - but feels he therefore has plenty more to come when action resumes on Saturday.
“It has been a very strange day,” said Dovizioso, who comes into the weekend three points shy of 2020 MotoGP leader Fabio Quartararo.
“This morning I wasn't able to take advantage of the full session, and I wasn't able to find a good feeling with the bike. I think this is because of the conditions of the new asphalt; there is a lot of grip, but also several bumps and I always feel like I am slower than the lap times I am actually doing.
“Now we will work to come back stronger tomorrow. It will be crucial to be able to find positive sensations again to then focus on the final details for the race.”
On the other side of the garage it was a stronger day for Danilo Petrucci, who was the highest-placed rider not on a KTM or Yamaha in seventh position.
Like Dovizioso however, he was one of several riders to complain of the bumps that have emerged as a result of the newly-laid asphalt.
“It was a good day, and it's always nice to be able to race at our home track. With the new asphalt, the track conditions have changed, and there is much more grip than last year. Unfortunately, there are several bumps and that have created some problems for us.
“We have worked hard today to try to fix this, and it seems that in the afternoon, we were able to find a solution. Now we'll have to try to understand how the tyres work for the race."
