Ducati has concluded another three days of private testing at Misano – their second in less than a month – with some upgrades for the Desmosedici and to prepare for the Misano GP in September.
Michele Pirro and Franco Battaini did the big part of the work, while Andrea Dovizioso joined the test team to concentrate on the new frame and give more feedback on the EVO machine.
Even if the weather conditions were torrid – air temperatures were 35° and more than 50° on the asphalt, Pirro was able to put together around 200 laps.
“They were three very challenging days because of the heat.
The air was unbreathable and the asphalt was hot.
Nevertheless we are quite pleased with how these tests went and we gave the technicians a lot of feedback to go over.
Even the lap times were satisfactory, since Andrea and I rode very close Valentino’s 2012 lap times and in hotter weather.
We have the same sensations and this is positive,” said Pirro.
“We tried to find a set-up for the September 15th race that I will be taking part in, and in front of the Italian fans.
Our goal was to get in shape with these tests in order to get the best possible performance, and we know perfectly well our limits, now we need to see Honda and Yamaha, but regarding us, we have a sound basis from which to start from.
In an interview with GPone.
com Pirro said that if there were more tire options, Ducati could shave off seven or eight tenths from lap times and during this last test they were using the 2012 tires.