MotoGP, Dovizioso: “Feedback after day one? Not with such slow times”

Andrea Dovizioso has been getting to grips with the Petronas Yamaha during what was a strange first day, track conditions wet apart from during the first part of the morning. The new Petronas rider also faced various ‘problems’ relating to his riding position.

 Andrea’s initial analysis: “Need to find my position”

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“For now I’m battling to find my riding position – said Andrea during the press conference – otherwise, if I was already thinking about corner entry or braking, I’d be much further forward. When you’re still working on the position and don’t feel comfortable, you can’t put together the braking point, corners or corner exit. This morning, on dry asphalt, I was a long way off in terms of riding position but I expected that and it’s normal. These are things you usually sort out during winter testing, at the end of the season in fact so that you’re already sorted for the first pre-season test. It’s normal and I knew we’d have these difficulties and that’s why I decided to take part in this race. I had the possibility to test after this race but being here already this weekend speeds up the work, and what I see in the race will help me do better during the test. So it's all good. For now I’m nowhere near close to providing any feedback about the bike because this will only come when the times start to drop. When you feel what’s on the asphalt, the front and rear tyres it’s a great sensation”.

Dovizioso: “First my position, then the feedback”

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So what has Andrea understood so far? “What have I learned about the Yamaha? For now, I’m 2.5 seconds from the others so I’ve only been able to understand the important things, the power, electronics, long turns but you can only understand the engine details when you set certain times, not when you’re 2.5 seconds back. What’s happening is normal, we’re working and there’s no point providing feedback when the times aren’t there. With Aprilia I already had different sensations compared to the previous eight years, but there are those things that you understand as soon as you head out, and others that you need to be riding to understand. When I left pitlane I said “it’s wide enough that we might spend days finding the right position”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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