In the first qualifying sessions today, among other things the pole position of Fabio Quartararo followed by his future teammates Maverick Vinales and Marc Marquez, the other big news was the fact that the best Ducati in the overall standings was that of Pecco Bagnaia who was ranked 4th and will start tomorrow from the second row with Jack Miller at his side. The two Pramac Ducatis basically. In the second row, in 8th place with the first Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso struggles with many problems in these first days of the MotoGP championship 2020.
“Pecco did a great qualifying so congratulations to him and to Jack, who also did a good lap – Dovizioso said in a debriefing with the media – We are in a strange situation; the tires are unusual and we haven’t fully understood them yet. We must not pay attention if things do not go well in these cases, we have to study them further and seek trust at the front. “
Another major event of the day was the fall of Alex Rins, who probably dislocated his shoulder. Are your drivers a little more conservative than usual with such a short championship and the risk of injury that is always imminent?
“We can’t afford this line of reasoning, just thinking about it would slow us down. If we argued like that, we wouldn’t be in the World Cup and not at that level. We don’t have risk management and if a driver doesn’t try hard to push their limits, they can’t even stay at that level. Because of this, a lot of riders come to MotoGP, show good form and then fall off again. There are many extreme aspects to be mastered, this is the case in every sport at the highest level. The championship is more compact, but an injury before that could have affected the season ”.
You said you are looking for more confidence on the front lines. Did this issue hurt your performance today?
“Today’s qualifying goal was to finish in the first two rows, but I wasn’t fast enough; the pace for the race is good and similar to the top guys, the problem is that Many of us are at the same pace I don’t know where to stop tomorrow. I focus on having more confidence in the front end, I tried a lot of settings this weekend; I don’t usually do that but we are still working on this bike. I drive differently than in 2019, there is a lot to change and that is only possible on the race weekend. “
So you put your hands on the GP20. What are you working on?
“It’s less a question of the motorcycle than of the tires, the new Michelins work differently and you have to adapt the way you brake, enter corners, take off the brakes and accelerate. There are really small differences, but it is not easy to change so much, it is not even clear what we have to do But we have a lot of data that will help us improve session by session. I’m not worried because the speed is there. “
In short, you still have a difficult relationship with these new Michelins …
“The tires are the same for everyone, I am not satisfied with my feelings with these tires. We can’t complain, it’s a matter of customization. “
Is there a chance of a podium in tomorrow’s race?
“Tomorrow the pace of many drivers will be different than in the last few days. The race revolves around the way everyone handles the heat in relation to their speed; Doing 25 laps in these conditions will not be easy and you will also need to control tire wear. We always aim for the podium; we just have to see how it goes tomorrow “.
What are the most important aspects to get back to the top?
“The start will be crucial because it’s difficult to overtake here and when you are behind another driver the tire will heat up even more. This is only one aspect, because When you’re in a race, you have to deal with a number of things that I still don’t feel at my best. I have to keep studying everything together with my team to try and improve. “
We have seen Jack Miller use the stern lowering device a lot. Do you use it too?
“I use it too; the four of us are in the same situation. The device works, but as with all updates, there are advantages and disadvantages. With this particular device, it depends a lot on the route you are driving, we have to try and use it “.