Dovizioso switches to 'new' Ducati

Andrea Dovizioso will race the updated version of the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 for the first time during this weekend's German MotoGP at the Sachsenring.

"We did a good job last week in a private test at Misano, so for the first time, Andrea will bring the 'new' bike for a race weekend," said Ducati team manager Vittoriano Guareschi.

"It will be very interesting to see how it works at the Sachsenring after the positive impressions he had at Misano."

However team-mate Nicky Hayden has opted to stick with the standard version. "As for Nicky, he did some good lap times at the test, and he'll continue with the current bike," commented Guareschi.

Ducati development rider Michele Pirro has been race testing the 'lab' bike in recent events, with permanent Pramac rider Andrea Iannone also hoping to use the revised machine this weekend.

Dovizioso, who finished third in last year's Sachsenring event while riding for Tech 3 Yamaha, said: "I don't know how the Sachsenring will be for us; as is the case at many tracks this year, this one will be new for me with the Ducati. It's a small circuit, but it's very complicated. I'm not crazy about it, but I'm curious to see how the Desmosedici will go there."

Sachsenring follows the toughest event of the season so far for Ducati, at Assen, where Dovizioso was the factory's lead rider, but in tenth place and over 30 seconds from winner Valentino Rossi.

"We knew Assen wasn't one of the easiest tracks for us, but we certainly didn't ever expect all the problems we had. Still, we go to the Sachsenring as we always do: determined to get the best result possible," said Dovi.

Hayden added: "Assen was tough for us, but the Sachsenring is a track I look forward to going to. I can't say it's the greatest or the most fun, but I've had good results there in the past. Everybody knows that the 'waterfall' corner is one of the best corners in all of racing, and if the bike is working well there, it's a lot of fun.

"It's a track where traction and tyre wear are both really important, and that's not our strength at the moment, especially because we know the tyres will be pretty hard to compensate for that. We've got a big job ahead of us, but hopefully we can get some good momentum going. It would be nice to have more fun this weekend."

Dovizioso and Hayden are sixth and eighth in the championship standings after seven rounds, with a best race result of fourth - by Dovizioso - at Le Mans.