Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso was left surprised with the number of meetings in DTM in two days than whole year in MotoGP.
Dovizioso had a good debut weekend in DTM abode the #34 Team WRT Audi car at Misano last weekend. Even though the MotoGP rider could not secure a Top 10 finish, the Italian almost had it in Race 2 but for the late spin which thwarted his chances.
He started off well to be 16th in both the practice sessions and qualified 15th for Race 1 on Saturday, where the Italian finished 12th after running as high as fourth before his mandatory pit stop. The first race was about learning the racing lines for him.
“The race was nice,” he said. “It was nice to battle with other drivers. I learned a lot about the racing lines, and also about where I have to brake and get on the throttle. My start wasn’t that good, but in the end, I gained some positions and I had some nice battles.”
The Qualifying 2 on Sunday nearly saw him into the tyre barriers but he just managed to save himself. He still managed to set the 14th quickest time for Race 2. He looked much better in the second race and ran as high as eighth while battling others.
He rejoined in 14th after his pit stop and was looking good for a Top 10 finish but for a high-speed pirouette around the back of the circuit, which dropped him back but the Italian still managed to finish 15th – the goal of finishing both the races was ticked.
Looking the whole weekend, Dovizioso was happy with the progress but was clearly a bit annoyed with meetings he had to undertake in the two days which he said was more than what he has in MotoGP with Ducati in the whole season.
“I made a good start and I was ninth after two laps, which was cool, but I didn’t have the speed to be fighting at the front,” he said. “It was difficult. The level of the drivers and the car is very high, so it takes time.
“But I had some nice battles and was able to use DRS and push-to-pass. As the race went on, I struggled a bit with the rear tyres. I didn’t really have a goal prior to this weekend. I just wanted to learn; to understand more of the car and the level of the drivers.
“And that’s what I did. I really enjoyed it and I could definitely see myself coming back to the DTM one day. The only thing that surprised me a bit were all the meetings. In DTM, I think I had more meetings in two days than in one whole year with Ducati.
“And I stopped it, because I was here to drive, not to have meetings.” With his first – and for now the only – outing done and dusted, it is back to his normal business this weekend at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona for the Spanish MotoGP race.
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