During the World Ducati Week which was held at Misano, Italy, the Ducati Corse department and the riders clearly showed their intent with Ducati at MotoGP. The riders also greeted their fans and discussed how the MotoGP season has progressed from the first test at Sepang.
Paolo Ciabatti, Sports Director for the Ducati Team in the MotoGP World Championship said “It’s been a pretty good season but definitely below our expectations so far, we are still missing victory, which has not come since 2010. It is the main objective again for the year and we will endeavour to achieve it and we still have ten races left. We are always working in this direction.”
Luigi Dall’Igna, the Ducati Corse General Manager stressed what Ciabatti had said about Ducati’s quest for victory: “It’s a goal that I consider possible but difficult. Our opponents are top notch but we do not feel inferior, both as racers and as a company. There is so much work to be done and we will never be satisfied until we win. For us at Borgo Panigale there is the short-term goal; to climb to the top step of the podium again. The long term goal is to win a second MotoGP title.”
The two leaders were joined onstage by the two riders pushing Ducati ahead on the track, Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.
Andrea Dovizioso said, “We have come home short, we had some bad luck and we are still missing something, small details that make the difference. The level is so high and to stay ahead you need to be perfect.” Dovizioso is set to stay at Ducati till 2017 alongside new signee Jorge Lorenzo. “I’m happy to have renewed with Ducati, to stop after this year would be to cut a great project short, we have been working for a long time. In these three and a half years we have improved the bike a lot and the next two and a half years will be important. We have the time and opportunity to take chances," he added.
Teammate Andrea Iannone said, “After 2015, my first year as a factory rider, we did better than expected and I grew a lot, the expectations for this season were very, very high, just as our ambitions. When races happen like they have this year, it’s never easy. I’ve always tried. Throughout the weekend we were very competitive and then on Sunday we always collected less than we could. In the races I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I have always taken responsibility, apologised when I needed to and worked to improve for the next GP. The situation at Assen was very difficult and we worked too hard to bring home an important result after a nice recovery, our position is not the best though.”
Source - MotoGP.com
