Brno will deliver clearer picture of Ducati strength, says Rossi

The Italian manufacturer finally ended a long barren spell in last weekend’s Austrian race, as Ducati works riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso delivered a one-two.

It followed Ducati’s domination of the two-day July test at the Red Bull Ring, which established the Borno Panigale-based squad as firm favourites to pick up a first MotoGP win since 2010.

While Rossi expects Iannone and Dovizioso to still be fighting at the front, the seven-time premier class champion said the different nature of the Brno track will make it clearer just how competitive the Desmosedici GP is now.

“I think for Ducati this race is very important, because everybody expected Ducati to be competitive in Austria,” said Rossi.

“They are very fast in acceleration, they are very fast on the straight. With the Honda and Yamaha, we hoped that they would have some tyre problem during the race or that we can have some advantage.

“But in the end Ducati was also the best bike with the tyre last weekend, so for this reason they can go fast for all the race, and this is more of a problem for us.

“So this is a track where you can understand better [how strong the Ducati is] because it is very important for the engine, but have also lots of corners.

“But I think they can be competitive and they can fight with us.”

Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who makes the switch to Ducati next year in place of Iannone, said he believes his future employers will be in victory contention at nearly every circuit now, albeit without the same margin as it enjoyed in Austria.

“I think honestly at this moment they make a great step forward,” said Lorenzo of Ducati.

“I don’t think they are just fast in Qatar [where Iannone crashed out of the lead] or in Austria. They can also be fast at most of the tracks.

“Maybe not to dominate like they did in Austria, but fight for the victory.”