Positive start for two Ducati Team riders in the GP of Qatar at Losail

Racing, March 16, 2018

Positive start for two Ducati Team riders in the GP of Qatar at Losail: Andrea Dovizioso first and Jorge Lorenzo fourth after first day of practice

Andrea Dovizioso topped the timesheets at the end of the opening day of free practice action in the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, taking place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider, who finished the early afternoon FP1 session in the top slot, did the same in the evening’s FP2 with a time of 1’54.361, just a fraction ahead of Danilo Petrucci with the Desmosedici GP18 of the Pramac Racing Team.

Fourth place in today’s free practice standings went to Jorge Lorenzo, with a best time of 1’54.831. In the first session the Spanish rider had obtained the fifth quickest time.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) - 1° (1’54.361)
“Finishing both Friday sessions in first place in the opening GP of the season is always a great pleasure! Today we went really well but on this track I didn’t have many doubts. Now however we must continue to work hard, because we found conditions that were quite different to those of the tests, and it’s much warmer. We will now have to focus on managing tyre wear and on the small details that make all the difference in a 22-lap race. At any rate I’m very happy with the overall feeling with the Desmosedici GP18.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) - 4° (1’54.831)
“All in all, as a first day of practice, things didn’t go badly and I’m quite satisfied because we managed to find a good pace. In the end I was missing an ‘explosive’ lap and for the moment Andrea and Danilo are quicker than me, but today my sensations were better than what I had during the tests. The aim for tomorrow is to work on some small changes on the bike that will allow me to improve even further, and I’m confident because my progress in any case has been positive.”