Two days of official MotoGP testing marking the start of the 2019 championship season have come to a close at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste (Valencia).

Once again the field of riders could only go out late in the morning, after the track had completely dried out following another night of rain in Valencia.

The two factory Ducati Team riders focussed their work load on the 2019 version of the Desmosedici GP, obtaining positive feedback, and at the end of the session Andrea Dovizioso was second quickest with a time of 1’30.890, while Danilo Petrucci ended the day in fifth place with a best lap of 1’30.959.

They were joined on track by Michele Pirro, who following a crash and a worsening of the pain in his right shoulder, only completed 14 laps with a best time of 1’32.376

The MotoGP teams and riders will be back in action next week at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain where the last two days of official testing this year are scheduled for 28 and 29 November.


Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 57 laps – 1’30.890

“Today went better than yesterday because we were able to do a lot of tests, including back-to-back ones, during which we found some interesting solutions. These were small details and now we want to try them in different conditions and on another track to get some more precise feedback. These two days of tests at Valencia have been very positive and now we will try and confirm the same sensations at Jerez.”

Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team #9) – 5th – 60 laps – 1’30.959

“I’m pleased with this second day of tests because we were able to try a lot of things and we were always pretty fast, up near the top of the timesheets. I was able to lap consistently with excellent times, even though we didn’t do many tests with different set-ups, and this means that the 2019 bike has a good base. In the end, I only missed out on a quick lap, but I’m very pleased with the way the team is working, with even more engineers helping me, and this made all the difference.”

Michele Pirro (Ducati Team #51) – 19th – 14 laps – 1’32.376

“Today I didn’t do many laps, just 14 in total, when the track wasn’t very fast, but we still managed to do a test that gave us some very useful information. Unfortunately, the problem with my right shoulder, which has worsened since Sunday, didn’t allow me to work well and I crashed again. In ten days’ time I’ll finally be able to have an operation and then I want to turn over a new page.”