The first day of testing organized by Ducati at Zeltweg’s Red Bull Ring circuit, where the Austrian GP will be held on 14 August, came to an end this afternoon at 6 pm.
A total of 21 riders and test-riders from all manufacturers present in the MotoGP World Championship, were on hand to get to grips with the new Austrian circuit for the first time.
The results of the first day of testing were excellent: Andrea Dovizioso set the quickest time of the day in 1’23.764.
Tomorrow the MotoGP riders will be out on track again from 8.30 am to 12.00 and then from 1 pm to 6 pm for the second and final day of testing.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’23.764 (1st)
“Today went really well: the track has some aggressive first and second gear acceleration areas and quite long straights, so it is suitable for the characteristics of our bike, and as a result it was quite easy to lap quickly. It was great to be constantly quick on this track and, even though it’s not one of the biggest and most spectacular tracks in the championship, it is in any case interesting to lap on a new circuit. Now we have to understand what tyres Michelin will bring for the race because it was also an important test for them. Here the tyre wear is particularly high because the bike tends to slide about on maximum lean and it spins a lot on the straight, so doing an entire race distance without any problems is going to be rather difficult.”