Misano MotoGP 2018 | Rider Reflections

Misano MotoGP 2018 – Round 13

Dovi wins in Misano but Marquez takes 67pt lead to Aragon

 MotoGP

Andrea Dovizioso – P1

“I wanted this win so badly, because here at Misano Ducati and I have always struggled in recent years. In the test in August however we realized that we had made an important step forward and we could be competitive in the race. We worked really well during the weekend, in very different conditions, but both Jorge and Marc are very strong here so to win I had to do a perfect race. I started off in the right frame of mind, fully focussed on the race strategy, and when I took the lead, I pulled out a small advantage and then managed the situation until the finish. I’m really pleased, because winning here at Misano was very important for Ducati but also for me. Years ago it seemed like an impossible dream, but now we’ve done it and it fills me with so much satisfaction.”

Marc Marquez – P2

“We’re very happy with this podium because we knew that at this track Ducati would be very fast and actually they were! They’d tested here and we hadn’t, but we fought hard and we got very close. I had a good start and then it took some time to bring the tyres up to temperature. I closed the little gap to the front but then I saw that Dovi was so strong today, so I set second place as the target. I was behind Jorge but he was faster than me. I kept pushing and pushing to see if I was able to make a move in the last lap and then he crashed. We took second meaning that we leave here with a 67-point advantage in the Championship which is very important. I’m happy, I feel comfortable on the bike, and I’m ready to prepare for Aragon, which is a track that I like very much.”

Cal Crutchlow – P3

“The Team did a fantastic job this weekend, this is a very important round for them, I was disappointed not to race at mine two weeks ago, so we put everything into this one. We tried our best, sure we got lucky with the crash of Lorenzo at the end, but as I said, I don’t really care because we did a good job. I’m proud of my Team and we now go to Aragon in good shape. I lost one second (behind Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins) and that just stopped me being there with Marc (Marquez) and Jorge (Lorenzo), but that’s the way it goes. I wasn’t willing to push at the start of the race as much as I could and I got passed by Rins. But overall we have to be very pleased for the team and we head into the rest of the year in good shape.”

Alex Rins – P4

“During the whole weekend I didn’t feel very fast with the medium tyre, so we chose the soft, and I didn’t think about the degradation too much because I knew I could be strong with the soft tyre. I’m very pleased with the race, it was incredible. The key was making a good start and trying to stay with the front group, and after that I just tried to keep my rhythm, but that became more and more difficult because I started to feel movement on the front end. Anyway, I’m happy with this 4th place and I hope we’ll continue like this.”

Maverick Viñales – P5

“It was really difficult. After the start I was really happy, actually, in the second corner because I thought ‘Now I take the slipstream from the fast guys and I will keep it up until the end’, because I felt really strong in FP4 and I felt I could do it. But we had quite a big drop in feeling from the Saturday to the Sunday, so we have to check what happened on the bike better, but it’s still difficult. It’s been a year and a half that we have been suffering in the races and we still have to understand what the point is where we lose out. Aragon will also be difficult because it’s hot and slippery, but we have some ideas for improvement that we can try. One of them is braking areas, as today I suffered a lot with the front tyre, so let’s see.”

Dani Pedrosa – P6

“Today’s sixth place was the best outcome for the weekend and so we must take the positives from it, but of course it’s not enough because we’re still far from where we want to be. I tried to stick to Maverick and to get closer to Rins but I wasn’t able to. We need to work on our bike’s setup in order to get closer to the pace of the front group.”

Valentino Rossi – P7

“It was a pity because I would have liked to have a good race here in Misano, in my home GP, in front of all my friends and fans. I expected to be faster in the race, because yesterday in FP4 we did a good session. But this morning we had more problems with the bike, and even this afternoon, despite the conditions being more or less the same as those of yesterday. The big problem is that at the moment we don’t understand why. We must be able to understand what happens to our bike in situations like this. I hope we can fix it very quickly, because I want to go back to doing good races.”

Andrea Iannone – P8

“First of all, when you start near the back of the grid it’s very difficult to recover. For me it was not easy to overtake, especially on the braking points, but in the end I was able to keep pushing and pass some riders, and then start to close the group in front of me. But I ran a bit wide in Turn 10 and lost time, so then I had to recover the gap again. I gave 110% during the race, so in the last 3 laps the tyres were really worn and I was struggling with movement. 8th position is a bit far from my target, but in any case it’s not bad. Aragón is quite a good track for me, with some good memories, so I hope for a better race there.”

Álvaro Bautista – P9

“A top ten finish nowadays in MotoGP is not easy because the level is so high, so another one here is very positive because for some reason I found myself a little off the pace of the guys at the front today. Today we managed to improved the feeling with the bike and went for the soft front and rear options, which I think was the right choice. I am happy because we were close to the factory bikes and given that Cal Crutchlow is on factory material I am the first independent rider today. In any case our goal is to continue improving in the next race.”

Johann Zarco – P10

“It has been a difficult race today, it was hot. I had a good feeling from the work we did in the Warm Up. At the beginning of the race in the first corners of the first lap I was able to control the bike well. To stay with the others was difficult, especially behind Valentino, he was braking quite strong and I could not overtake him. My weak point was always that I was losing in acceleration. From the beginning of the race, I’ve lost a few meters in the exit of the corners and then I did a mistake in the entry to corner 10 and I think this made me lose a lot of time and a lot of energy. Then I tried to find the pace and relax myself but I couldn’t do more, so it was not easy. The feeling to handle and control the bike was ok but we are so weak in the exit, so for the next races I’m going to try to find a solution even in riding style to have less issues. I still don’t know. I gave all the energy I had, but still finished far from the top guys, which is difficult to accept, but it’s the way of our races at the moment. I need to accept this and work on myself to keep growing.”

Danilo Petrucci – P11

“I’m sorry about this race. It wasn’t a good weekend for us. I tried to stay with the leading group in the first laps but I didn’t have any feeling with the rear tyre.”

Franco Morbidelli – P12

“This 12th position means some good points at my home race. I risked a lot to stay in the top ten and pushed a lot on in the braking. But after a few laps I had some problems and had to drop my pace because I could not brake as usual and I was also losing time in acceleration.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“It was a really long race and it was hot, but it was the best conditions we’ve had all weekend. I had a really good start and overtook a few riders at the beginning of the race and tried to follow the main group. From the beginning to the end, my lap times were nearly the same, I didn’t make any mistakes and was consistent which allowed us to take some points. I’m happy with this result, it’s only a few points, but it’s important for me as it was a difficult weekend. I want to thank my team who did a really great job and gave me a good bike and let’s see what we can do at the next race in Aragon.”

Aleix Espargaró – P14

“The race was undoubtedly the best session of the weekend, despite the final result which was below our objectives. I managed to be faster than in practice, reducing the gap behind riders like Zarco, Petrucci and Iannone, but we are still lacking a few tenths in order to stay with them for race distance. I gave it my all, even physically, because now the RS-GP takes a toll in direction changes. Our weak point right now is on corners without brakes, where the bike should flow, whereas when you brake hard, we are rather competitive. The tests will be fundamental, also to increase the synergy with my new crew chief.”

Michele Pirro – P15

“The positive thing about today is that Andrea won the race and Jorge fought for the win until the very end, so a Ducati 1-2 was surely on the cards. As for me, I think I ruined my race with a bad start and I crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in twentieth place. From then on it was all difficult and even though I was able to make up a few places, I began to suffer physically in the last few laps. In the end I’m pleased to see that after my Mugello crash, I’m still fast and I think that in the future we can again fight for the top places.”

Bradley Smith – P16

“The top five-six were separated by twenty seconds so the leaders really did a good job today with super-strong lap-times. This was always going to a weak track for us but we still improved a lot, especially when you look to last year. We turned up with new package this weekend, which was going to make life a bit more difficult. We tried the very best we could and I pushed so hard to stay with the points group in the first half of the race but towards the end I had nothing left when the tyre started to drop. We’ll learn from this weekend and let’s see when we turn up to Aragon. I’m excited for that track because we did two days testing so I think we’ll have more to show.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P17

“It wasn’t the race we were expecting, even though we were competitive, and I think that we could have fought for the win. Today it was much warmer than the last few days and the grip wasn’t ideal, so we had to chose harder tyres than what I usually like. I suffered a lot under braking because I was unable to stop the bike, the front was turning in on me and the situation was very difficult to manage. This was the main reason why I crashed: I had to push more than usual because I had lost too much time battling with Marquez and Andrea had taken advantage to break away. Now we have to analyze the data well to understand how to improve the bike and be even quicker in the next races.”

Jack Miller – P18

“It’s a shame. We did a good job over the weekend and the race pace was good. I was convinced that I could be with the leaders but I made a mistake. I can’t wait to be at Aragon.”

Hafizh Syahrin – P19

“In the end, we finished the race in 19th, which is not the position we aim for but it was a lot better than Qualifying. I still need to improve a lot and we also need to work harder for the next race. We decide to choose a rear soft tyre because I don’t have a lot of experience and we had a good pace with it, so we opted for that different tyre on the rear. In the first 10 laps I felt really good, not very far from the others but then I had a huge drop on the left side and therefore I was losing speed on the exit of the corners and had a lot of spinning. The feeling of the bike was very good, but this issue made it difficult for me to stop the bike and in addition the hot conditions today. Anyway, I gained more experience this weekend, some things to forget and some to take away. I try to learn from my mistakes and try to work hard for the next round.”

Karel Abraham – P20

“The only thing I think we could have done better is being in front of Syahrin. He was seven seconds of us and I think this was reachable but unfortunately from the beginning of the race I had problems with the front, I was losing it a lot but after seven or eight laps it got much better. In the middle of the race I had the best feeling I have had all weekend with the bike, it was really good, but then of course it dropped again. With seven laps to go Jack Miller overtook me but I couldn’t follow his pace and it would have been risky to try. It was a big gap in front of me and a big gap behind to I just managed the front and rear tyres to the end of the race. It was a shame the first seven or eight laps weren’t what we needed but overall the race was not that bad. We have to go to Aragon with our chins up, ready to fight again.”

Scott Redding – P21

“I’m disappointed. Our weekend started the right way and I honestly thought that it could have been the right chance to show our potential. Instead, things got worse. Especially in the early part of the race I was very slow, and I had to let a lot of riders pass. I am in difficulty with the front tyre. I can’t use the hard because it’s too risky, partly because I weight more than other riders, and at the same time, the medium is too soft. I don’t have the solution. We are working, but we are struggling to get out of this vicious cycle.”

Tom Luthi – P22

“The race was a disaster for me. I was struggling with turning all weekend and we had no choice but to try a big set-up change for the race after the warm-up, but it didn’t work as expected. It was not easy to finish the race, I had no chance to push. Now we must look forward to the next race in Aragon and try to find more confidence on the bike.”

Christophe Ponsson – P23

“It’s been a long race. I expected it that way and I faced the race as a 27-lap practice session. It helped me to understand many things about the front tire and I have also experienced how the behaviour of the bike as the fuel load gets less towards the middle of the race. I also learned the difference between a new and a worn tire, because it changes the way you have to ride during the race. My last lap was only half a second slower than my best one in qualifying and this was also positive. I think we haven’t made any mistakes. I learned a lot and I did not crash because I did not want to lose track time. It was difficult to take everything in in such a short time, but the experience was worth it. I hope I can do better in Aragon”.

Stefan Bradl – DNF

“Today we chose to race on a hard rear tyre so I managed the first laps in a bit of a defensive way until I got comfortable with it. Our strategy was to gain some advantage in the final part of the race. Unfortunately, after some laps I started to feel vibrations from the front and finally I crashed. We don’t know yet what happened. We’ll discuss with Michelin to analyse the data and see what the problem was.”

Pol Espargaro – DNF

I was weak and I had some pain in my collarbone but at least I was able to be here. I got through practice, qualifying, warm-up and after sixteen laps of the race I saw I was not performing or riding well. I preferred to stop and think about the two test days ahead now and then to be closer to 100% for Aragon. We will stay here and try as many things as we can. I cannot do many long runs but I can do short runs and test some new pieces. I can make some good laps but the problem is when I try for more than five-six together because I get too tired and my collarbone doesn’t resist. It was good to be out there but I’m still not ready to fully race against those guys on a track like this. We’ll cross our fingers for more improvement and more work ahead.”

Xavier Simeon – DNF

“It was a shame to crash in the race and without a doubt, this is not what I expected. The first thing that went wrong was the start and that’s what ultimately caused this crash, because I tried to recover and go with the group that was in front of me. But apart from this, I had fun and I learned a lot this weekend riding the GP17, although, of course, you can’t jump on a different bike and do miracles. I think I’ve done good lap times during practice, compared to last year. And I’ve also reconfirmed that the level of this category is very high even with a better bike. I hope to be able to take advantage of all I’ve learned this weekend when we get to Aragon, where I want to be stronger from Friday and make a good weekend”.

Team Managers talk Misano

Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager

“We have to be happy both with this result and the performance of our bike. We did a great job over the weekend both on a technical level and with our riders. Dovizioso won after disputing a great race, and Lorenzo, despite his crash, did a wonderful race that thrilled me because he made some spectacular passes on other riders. To win both in Mugello and at Misano in the same season is something really special.”

Claudio Domenicali – CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.

“Winning here at Misano has a special flavour, because we are just down the road in Bologna and we can count on fantastic support. We’re going through a fantastic period at the moment because we’ve won the last three races with both our riders. Today Andrea was simply irresistible and clear-headed on the track: he was capable of managing the race well, kept an excellent pace and pushed hard when it was necessary. It’s a pity about Jorge, who did a great race and who deserved a podium. We were close to another Ducati 1-2, with just a few kilometres to go before the finish, but in any case today we’re very happy and I’d like to thank all those who support us from home as well as all the fans who help us get through the difficult moments and everyone working at Borgo Panigale to produce this truly extraordinary bike. We hadn’t won at this track since the Stoner days, proving that Misano has always been a difficult circuit for our bikes, which are very strong in acceleration and braking. Winning here shows what a complete and mature rider Dovizioso is, but it also demonstrates the excellent overall set-up of our bike. Finally, I’d like to compliment all our engineers, and give a big consolation hug to Jorge, who for sure is pretty disappointed at this moment, as well as one to Dovi who did a really extraordinary race.”

Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“After yesterday’s qualifying session and also FP4 we were expecting completely different results. Already during the warm up the bike was behaving differently and the only thing that changed compared to yesterday was the temperature. Today’s race had the exact same conditions as yesterday, but both riders suffered from a lack of grip. They couldn’t stop the bike and get the right corner speed for the entire race duration. We have to understand what caused this problem that already happened several times before so we can improve and fight at the front again, where we belong.”

Hervé Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager

“That was a tough Grand Prix, but we knew it was going to be difficult. For sure, I think the fact that we haven’t been testing here didn’t help us a lot. Clearly the best moment and the highlight of the weekend for us was when Johann managed to go directly to Q2 on a still slightly damp track on Saturday morning in FP3. The rest of the weekend was obviously damage limitation. We did the best we could, we took a soft front and a soft rear and thought it could be a help in the beginning of the race to stay with the front guys and it worked until the Johann was trying to pass too hard and lost four positions, he went down from 9th to 13th. Lap time wise he was ok, he was lapping the same like the guys in front but couldn’t catch them anymore. A top 10 result is ok, thanks to Lorenzo, who helped us to arrive there. But it was a tough thing; Maverick Viñales fifth, Valentino Rossi seventh, Johann tenths shows that it’s not easy. There will be tracks which are better for us, for Yamaha, but right now it’s a bit of a struggle. The good point is, that we stay in contact for the best independent rider together with Cal Crutchlow and Danilo Petrucci. Let’s wait, I think Aragon will be a bit easier. On the other side, Hafizh Syahrin had a much better day today than the whole weekend with Warm Up and race and I think it’s always better to finish on a more positive note than the one he was going through on Friday. He did a good race, passed quite a few riders, did some decent lap times and hopefully Aragon will be also easier for him. Anyway, this is his rookie season, he is in a learning process and just lost two points to Franco Morbidelli now, but we’re still there and hopefully there will be tracks where we can be closer and in front again.”

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

“We knew when we brought Pol here it would be a difficult mission. Even though it was good to have him back on the bike we found that he couldn’t finish the race in the way he wanted without the risk of a crash. It was better to stop and that was 100% clear. It was the correct decision and we are glad he made it: we know he will be in much better condition in Aragon. On Bradley’s side he was working a lot with the settings during the sessions and the race was quite difficult. He just missed the points, but looking at other riders we are easily reminded that this is a demanding track. We now have a two-day test and I think we can work quietly and with short runs for Pol to make an improvement for the next race.”