Dovizioso leads the way in free practice at the end of Day 1at Mugello

The first day of free practice for the TIM Italian GP at Mugello began well for the Ducati Team. Andrea Dovizioso ended today’s two 45-minute sessions in first place, while his team-mate Andrea Iannone finished the day in fourth place, despite the problem with his left shoulder which he injured during testing at the Tuscany circuit on May 12th. Michele Pirro also put in a good performance, the Ducati Test Team test-rider twelfth quickest in the combined timesheets in his first race of the season as a wild-card with the Desmosedici GP15.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’47.479 (1st)

“I am very happy with how this weekend has started for us and above all with the time I set at the end of the session. We are quick and this is fundamental in the search for the best set-up. We are still carrying out some tests in order to improve certain aspects of the Desmosedici GP15 that will allow us to be competitive right until the end of the race. Now we must concentrate on the analysis of the data so that we can have a clear starting-point to work on for tomorrow.”

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 1’47.940 (4th)

“I had hoped to be in a better condition but instead I am having to make a big effort on this track, more than I expected. It’s not so much a question of pain, it’s more that I need too much strength, which in this moment I simply don’t have. I am not able to move my left shoulder the way I want to and so I’m losing a lot in the changes in direction, and there are a lot of them here at Mugello. I have to grit my teeth and do my best. As for the bike, I am quite pleased, we knew that the GP15 would be competitive here, I’m just sorry I’m not in the best condition to be able to make the best of its performance.”

Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 1’48.317 (12th)

“I am satisfied but at the same time a bit angry. On my best lap I came up on traffic which led to me losing a few tenths, but I’m only eight-tenths of a second away from Dovizioso, and for me, in my first race with the GP15, that’s not bad at all. I found a much higher level than last year: I’m twelfth and less than a second from the top, so I’m confident about tomorrow, when I will try and get into Q2 because I feel sure the bike has the potential to do so.”

Ducati Team