Dovi: Adapting GP18 more important than development

With the Ducati G18 now arguably the class of the MotoGP field, Andrea Dovizioso has explained why he was careful about introducing new parts during the season and believes the key to the factory's current form has been 'adapting' the package.

The Italian took only one podium (a win) from the opening five rounds, but is now up to second in the world championship after two wins and four podiums from the last four races.

Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo has taken two podiums, including one win, during the same timescale, having fallen from the last two races after qualifying on pole position.

"To develop something means you have different material," said Dovizioso, who returned to an earlier, slightly different, frame after a back-to-back comparison at August's Brno test.

"But we don’t need new parts to change something like the electronics or set-up… This is what happened [for Ducati this season]. It's not so easy to explain in detail, but there really is a margin to improve with the same package.

"You learn how to manage the tyres, how to manage the electronics, the bike, constantly. Because one part [of being competitive] is to develop the bike and another important part is for riders to adapt to the situation.

"That, I think, is the biggest and most important thing. More than developing the bike.

"So that's why we are a bit stronger [now]. We tried to understand and analyse what we have to do, in the way we have to manage the braking, the set-up."

Hearing such words with interest was KTM's Pol Espargaro, also present when Dovizioso previously warned about the dangers of throwing new parts at a bike during the season.

But with the RC16 still on a steep learning curve in only its second full campaign, and seeking bigger gains, Espargaro stressed that KTM has little choice but to try new parts during a grand prix weekend.

Indeed, Espargaro and Bradley Smith have recently switched over to a prototype 2019 machine.

"Dovi said that sometimes they lost their way a little bit by trying things to improve the bike instead of focussing on being fast," said Espargaro, speaking before his injury at Aragon.

"If he had these problems in a factory that was already winning - and for sure those changes for them are very small, small pieces… So ask him to change a swingarm or chassis during a race weekend and he’d ask if you were crazy!

"We are doing that and we are doing it to improve in the last races of this year, but also to start well for next year.

"We are sacrificing a lot of races this year to be ready for next year, but it was something we knew when we started this programme: that we had to use the race weekends [for testing] and we need to keep doing it."