Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso grabs pole for Ducati in Qatar MotoGP

Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso grabs pole for Ducati in Qatar MotoGP

Doha, Qatar – The first qualifying session of the season for the MotoGP at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit saw Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso took pole position ahead of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez. Prior to the qualifying session, in an interview with Dovizioso said he like the chemistry with his new teammate and namesake Andrea Iannone who performed well and got 4th place on the provisional starting grid of the Commerical Bank Grand Prix of Qatar MotoGP class.

A visibly elated Luigi Dall’Igna, the Ducati Team General Manager who oversaw the development of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP15 motorcycle from scratch.

Reigning MotoGP Champion Marquez didn’t have any comments to Dovizioso’s pace who used a softer option tire and ended in 3rd on the grid behind his teammate Pedrosa. His namesake and teammate Andrea Iannone took 4th place and will start from the front of the second row.

Pilipinas Shell invited some members of the Philippine motoring media to watch the year’s first MotoGP race in Doha, Qatar as well as interview opportunities for the two Ducati riders.

Shell has been a in technical partnership with Ducati for 17 years already and
has produced some 150 race wins and a total of seven Riders’ World Titles in MotoGP and the World Superbike Championship. Ducati and Shell first entered the MotoGP World Championship in 2003. Four years later, the team took all three World Titles – Riders’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ to become the first non-Japanese manufacturer to win the premier class for more than 30 years. However, Ducati has not been enjoying any wins since then. The initial David vs. Goliath success story took a long dry spell with over 120 races without any wins, so could the arid landscape of Qatar’s Losail be Ducati’s chance to break the so-called drought season?

“The new GP15 bike improved a lot compared to the old one.  The feeling is much better.” Said Dovizioso. When asked how soon if he will get a podium for Ducati, he added – “I have a good potential this week. The second and third practice was good for me too. But Yamaha and Honda are strong teams and the competition is really high. I try my best every time. The Ducati team worked very hard for this and will try my best.”