Andrea Dovizioso says Ducati still need to work on extracting more mid-corner pace from its Desmosedici machine, the Italian sure this is what cost him in his fight for victory at Mugello.
The Desmosedici bikes have always been infamous for their blistering straight line-speed and superb braking ability and stability, which have allowed them to be successful at tracks such as Mugello and the Red Bull Ring in Austria due to their long straights leading on from slow corners.
The achilles heel of most of the marque’s MotoGP machines in recent history however has been their mid-corner turning ability.
While this aspect has improved significantly in recent seasons, thanks in part due to the hiring of technical genius Gigi D’all’igna, the issue still persists.
This costs riders time in most corners simply because they cannot carry the corner speed their competitors can, as well as having to wait later to get back on the power on corner exit.
Despite team-mate Danilo Petrucci securing victory, his first in MotoGP, Dovizioso believes that Ducati should have performed better at the flowing 3.2 mile circuit relative to championship leader Marc Marquez’s Honda.
“The speed in the middle of the corners, nothing new,” said Dovizioso when asked where he felt he was losing out in his battle with Marquez.
“We have to be really happy about the race weekend because the conditions were very difficult and we were competitive, but the reason why Marc was able to stay with us on our good track is the speed in the middle of the corner.
“We turn in a bit better and we brake a bit better, but in the middle of the corners we are too slow and he’s so strong, the speed of the Honda in the middle of the corner is better.
"This is the reason why we lose some points and was the bad part of a good race."
