The Ducati Team riders took to the track once again today for the penultimate of three days of Official MotoGP Test at Sepang Circuit, in Malaysia.
After a first day deeply affected by the changeable weather conditions, Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci were finally able to take full advantage of the 8 hours of free practices available in which they found a dry surface of the track and acceptable but still scorching temperatures.
With just one month left before the opening Grand Prix of the 2020 season in Qatar, both the riders of the Bologna-based squad resumed their programs from where they left off yesterday, working on different aspects of their Desmosedici GP20 while also improving yesterday’s lap times.
Danilo Petrucci made a big step forward, taking 0.682 seconds off his personal best from yesterday. The rider from Terni ended the second day of testing in the thirteenth position overall with the fastest lap in 1’59.257, close to the top of the timesheets.
In the afternoon, Andrea Dovizioso slid out at Turn 6, but the small accident didn’t really compromise his working program. The rider from Forlì was fifteenth overall with a personal best lap in 1:59.342 at the end of Saturday.
Now that the most challenging part of the testing program is completed, the Ducati Team will head back on track tomorrow for the final day of the Sepang Test.
Danilo Petrucci (#9, Ducati Team) – 13° (1:59.257) “I am not completely satisfied with my ranking today. But still, I am happy because compared to yesterday we were able to make a big step forward and again we are really close to the top. Today we tried different new components, amongst which we also tried a new fairing: we did many laps, and my feeling with the used tires is good. Tomorrow we will focus more on improving the bike setup, and we will also work with the new tires to understand what we can do to take full advantage of them”.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04, Ducati Team) – 15° (1:59.342) “It has been another busy day. We were able to test several new components, like a new fairing, while in the afternoon I had a small crash and we couldn’t end our setup work on the Desmosedici. Now I have some pain in my hand and neck, but fortunately, we could get on with an important part of our program. I hope to feel better tomorrow and be able to take great advantage from the final day of testing”.