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The third and final day of first 2020 Official MotoGP Test has ended today at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
After a Friday that featured mixed track conditions due to the rain and a Saturday that welcomed on-track action under bright skies, the Ducati Team riders where able to take advantage of the dry conditions on Sunday until the final half-hour of free practices when the weather again deteriorated.
Both Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took it to the track just after 10 AM committing part of their test program to understand how to use the new Michelin tyres and working also on the ideal setup for their Desmosedici GP20 bikes.
In the morning, Petrucci was able to stop the clock on the 1:58.606, which was also his personal best of the weekend, ending sixth of the day and sixth in the combined classification.
It has been a positive day for Dovizioso too. Despite having ended the day just 14th and 15th overall at the end of the three days, he was able to finish only 0.510 seconds behind the pacesetter founding a good race pace in the mini long run (10 laps) that he did late this morning.
Before the opening Grand Prix of the 2020 MotoGP season that will be held on the 8th March in Qatar, the Ducati Team will head at the same Losail International Circuit from 22nd-24th February to complete the final session of winter testing.
Danilo Petrucci (#9, Ducati Team) – 6° (1:58.606)
“It has been a busy three-day test. Today we worked on different setup solutions, and even if we still have a few aspects that we still need to improve, I am satisfied because we were able to find a good race pace and make another step forward. I discussed a lot with Andrea, and together we identified a few aspects that for sure will be helpful during the races. We still need to understand how to use well the new tyres, but we still have the Qatar Test to complete our work”.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04, Ducati Team) – 14° (1:58.859)
“I am quite satisfied with the work we have done today. This morning we were able to put in several laps, improving the bike setup and also my feeling with the new tyres. It had not been easy because I had to adapt my riding style, and I was struggling a lot with this in the beginning. Danilo and I did a few laps together: the pace was good, but the tyre performance dropped quite a lot. We still need to understand how they will work on a race distance and here in Sepang, where the conditions are peculiar due to the high temperatures, is really difficult to make a complete evaluation. Now we still have a test before the opening round of the season in Qatar. I am sure that the final classification of these three days doesn’t completely reflect what will happen in the Championship this year”.
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