MOTOGP » Dovizioso racks up miles on Ducati

Andrea Dovizioso has pronounced himself satisfied with his first two days as a Ducati rider after managing a handful of dry laps in testing at Valencia.

The Italian, switching from Tech 3 Yamaha to Ducati as the replacement for Valentino Rossi, completed a total of 72 laps in both wet and dry conditions, setting a best time of 1min 33.238, just under a second slower than pace setter Dani Pedrosa.

Despite the lack of optimum track time, Dovizioso was pleased with the bike's base setting and is looking forward to getting more miles under his belt during an upcoming test at Jerez.

“We only had about an hour and a half and it was pretty overcast, with wet patches, so the conditions were difficult for my first impression in the dry. It wasn't the occasion to try lots of changes, so we weren't able to set the bike up perfectly.

“Still, the lap time is quite good, and so is the feeling. Of course it's always a big change to switch bikes, and it takes time to understand. Hopefully we'll have good weather for the test in Jerez.”

Team-mate Nicky Hayden, meanwhile, continued work on an a new frame, his time of 1min 32.956secs putting him fourth on the timesheets.

“It looked like we might not be able to go out today, so I'm happy that we got to do some riding. That's why you don't give up and go home early! We didn't make any huge gains or anything, but I got to test some things, and it was time well spent.

“I think the new frame helped improve the turning, and I also tried some things with the electronics, as well as a different suspension link that I had already tried earlier in the year. The track actually wasn't bad, apart from a couple of wet patches. Anyway, it's too early to draw any conclusions, but we look forward to the next test.”

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