A new chassis for Ducati is just one of several things Andrea Dovizioso needs to shake off his bridesmaid’s tag in 2020.
The Italian again finished runner-up to Repsol Honda ace Marc Marquez, who claimed a fourth premier class crown on the trot last season.
However, the gap between Marquez and Dovizioso was a staggering 151 points following the season finale, marking the largest ever margin between first and second in a championship season.
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'This season will be tough'
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Dovizioso’s 2017 title fight was perhaps his best, the Ducati rider tying Marquez for race wins (six) and taking the battle down to the Valencia season finale.
However, he fell away in 2018 and 2019 as Marquez tightened his grip on the premier class, the latter season seeing Honda’s increase in top speed wiping away Ducati’s obvious advantage.
With Ducati the first squad to unveil its 2020 challenger, the GP20, Dovizioso acknowledged the difficult season just past – even if he finished second – as a way to build on the new season as the Italian marque chases a first crown in 13 years following Casey Stoner’s 2007 breakthrough.
“2019 was interesting and made us understand a few aspects that will help us to improve and grow in 2020,” said Dovizioso.
“Last year we finished as runner-up for the third consecutive time behind Marc, a rider that for sure made the difference last year, but we also did our best managing well our potential.
“Every year has its own story, and it is not easy to predict what will happen in 2020. Our goal is clear; we want to challenge for the title again. Both Ducati and I are working hard to be back stronger than ever before.
“Compared to last year, I expect to find more competitive rivals, but we have also grown a lot, and I am confident that we will be able to continue with our positive trend.”
Critically, Ducati has constructed a new chassis for the new season, but questions remain over whether a solution has been found to the ongoing turning and corner speed woes.
Still, Dovizioso – who turns 34 a fortnight after the Qatar season opener in March – understands the rider plays the most pivotal role, and conceded he needs to do better if he is the one to unseat Marquez.
Importantly, Dovizioso must first curb his qualifying struggles – in 2019, he qualified seventh or lower 10 times, and managed just three front row starts.
“It’s impossible to know now how the championship will be, but for sure the guy to beat is Marc, who did something incredible last year,” said Dovizioso, who will be on track in his new colours at the Sepang test across February 7-9 ahead of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix on March 10.
“But I think that on paper we are five to six riders able to win the championship, not just the races … for sure on paper Marc is Marc and has won all the time, this is the reality. But I believe no one is unbeatable and we have to start the season with this mentality and try.
“So it’s really important to be in front at the beginning of the race, which means it’s really important to start a bit more forward than we did last year.
“There are a few things where we can be better, and where I can better, together with the team. Because most of the time it’s a mix from my side, the team and the characteristic of the bike …. last year we improved the set-up and my feeling to be strong in the race, but in qualifying I was struggling a lot.
“We need have to try our best to find what we can do about that because in qualifying it’s important to be in the first two rows normally.”
Ducati has retained its line-up year on year, with Danilo Petrucci staying with the works team despite a late-2019 slide following a maiden MotoGP on home soil at Mugello.
Where Dovizioso finished runner-up, Petrucci failed to claim a podium in the remaining 12 rounds of the year following his win and subsequent one-year contract extension.
According to Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, the fight for the 2020 title will be tougher than ever as Yamaha looks to build off its own late-2019 resurgence – but the GP20’s cornering weaknesses aren’t yet cured.
“We developed a completely new chassis. We tested it for the first time in Valencia, and the riders’ comment there was quite good,” explained Dall’Igna to motogp.com.
“For sure, the problem is not fixed. We have to develop something more.
“It will be a tough year because it will not only be Marc, but in the last part of the last season, there are some other riders who improved quite a lot.
“The fight for the world title will be more difficult this year than in the past.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/moto-gp/motogp-2020-andrea-dovizioso-ducati-motogp-marc-marquez/news-story/c45133c0f184ea90e046e64ac61f06b6
2020-01-28 04:05:00Z
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