Dovizioso, Hayden eighth and ninth at Misano
The GP di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini was a demanding one for Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden who, after starting from the third and fourth rows, respectively, crossed the finish line in eighth and ninth places.
Considering their grid positions and the track layout at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, it was clear that the start would be very difficult for the Ducati Team riders, and that proved to be the case. The teammates made several early passes before beginning a battle with one another for eighth place. After twenty-eight laps, Dovizioso finished eighth, while Hayden had to settle for ninth.
Before heading home, the Ducati Team will return to action tomorrow for an official IRTA test at the same circuit.
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 8th
“Obviously, we can’t be satisfied with the result. I made a mistake on the start. Espargaro was in front of me and, unfortunately, I was distracted when he jumped the start. I lost many positions and some seconds in the early going because there were many of us trying to pass each other in the slow corners, so the first few laps were pretty challenging. Then I started to find my rhythm; I passed Nicky and thought I could do a faster pace, but I didn’t have a great feeling with the front end of my Desmosedici. It’s a shame because I had hoped to be able to fight for positions a bit closer to the front.”
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 9th
“It’s been a tough weekend and things certainly didn’t get any easier today. When Espargaro jumped the start, I saw him out of the corner of my eye and delayed a little bit. I lost a few places on the run to turn one but was able to make up a couple of positions pretty quickly. Then it was a really difficult race for me, as it was very hard to change directions and stop. I was racing with Dovi, and at the end of the back straightaway, I lost the rear and ran off the track. The last few laps were pretty lonely after that. I made two mistakes—one at the start, one in the race—and they both hurt me. The pace hasn’t been very good all week, and it’s a shame because the team is working so hard.”
Bernhard Gobmeier – Ducati Corse General Manager
“In the end, it was a disappointing weekend after it started quite well in the free practices, where we found a fairly good setup and race rhythm. Of course the starting positions on the grid after qualifying weren’t too good, and we lost several positions at the start, which we could never really recover. We settled into a pace that was at times similar to that of the second group, but at the end, it was too much of a gap. Tomorrow we’ll have a few more things to test, which should give us some more data for the development of next year’s bike.”
