Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Ducati riders ready to rock at Dutch MotoGP

On the track also known as "The Cathedral", which has been hosting the World Championship ever since its first season in 1949.

Andrea Dovizioso

Bengaluru, June 27: Less than two weeks after the Grand Prix of Catalunya - where Danilo Petrucci took third position on the finish line while Andrea Dovizioso was involved in a crash that forced him to retire - the Ducati Team is ready to resume action at Assen (Netherlands) for the eighth round of the 2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship on Sunday (June 30).

On the track also known as "The Cathedral", which has been hosting the FIM MotoGP World Championship ever since its first season in 1949, the factory riders conquered a podium apiece with Ducati: Dovizioso finished second in 2014, Petrucci in 2017.

Going into round eight, Dovizioso is second in the FIM riders standings, 37 points shy of the lead, while Petrucci is fourth, just five points behind his team-mate.

Both Dovizioso and Petrucci are keen to make the most of the technical upgrades tested after the race at Montmelo to score as many points as possible and cut the gap in the rankings.

Ducati is second among Manufacturers with 131 points, while the Ducati Team leads the Team standings with 201 points.

The race will be held on Sunday (June 30) at 2pm local time (5.30pm IST)

No time to ponder

No time to ponder

"There's no time to linger on the points lost at Barcelona, we need to tackle each race working as hard as we've done until now," said Dovizioso.

"I believe we're showing great competitiveness and, even though there are always areas to improve, we have proven our speed," he added.

Chasing the leader

Chasing the leader

With 103 points, the Italian is second in the FIM MotoGP World Championship standings, 37 behind leader Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda, the team, which has an impressive record at Assen.

Dovizioso hopes to catch up with the leader though. "Assen isn't the most favorable track for our bike and weather conditions always play a fundamental role there, but at any rate we've shown we're capable of progressively improving during the course of a weekend even on tricky circuits. We need to stay calm and focused, taking it one race at a time. The Championship has still a long way to go."

Favourite circuit

Favourite circuit

The Ducati Team will resume action on Friday (June 28) for the first free-practice session while the race is scheduled for Sunday (June 30) and Petrucci sounded upbeat about the challenge.

"I've always had good sensations at Assen, it's one of my favourite circuits despite the fact that on paper it's not the easiest for us," he said.

Positive streak

Positive streak

The Italian rider dwelled further about the challenges at a circuit which he suits his style.

"We've been on a positive streak in the last few races, so first of all I want to be competitive and fight for the podium once again. Also, last year I had a quite difficult weekend at Assen, so I'll have an extra motivation going into this round.

Weather will be a question mark, and even though my riding style and the characteristics of the Desmosedici GP could represent an advantage in wet conditions, I hope we'll have a dry race. We have another chance to score a good result."

(By a special arrangement with Ducati)

Story first published: Thursday, June 27, 2019, 12:53 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 27, 2019