After seizing a podium at Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) with Andrea Dovizioso (3rd), the Mission Winnow Ducati team is ready to resume action at Austin (United States) for the third round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, scheduled for April 12-14 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Andrea Dovizioso, who took a win and a third place this season so far, is currently second in the championship with 41 points to his tally and is keen to extend the podium streak to cut the gap from the lead, which is currently only four points. Dovizioso scored his personal best result at COTA in 2015, when he finished second. Danilo Petrucci, sixth in both races in 2019, is also determined to improve his personal statistics at Austin, where his best position at the finish is 8th (in 2017) and to continue his progress and get closer to the podium.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 2nd (41 points)
“The way in which we worked in Argentina will be a good starting point for our next race at Austin. Even though the track is not the most suitable for us, I’m confident that, if we manage to improve in each session as we did at Termas de Río Hondo, we’ll be competitive come race time, which is the most important thing. Our goal at Austin is to step once again on the podium, which in some ways would count as much as a win, but we’ll need to assess the state of the track before we make any predictions. Last year the tarmac was really bumpy, and I hope the situation has improved since then. We know each race is a different story, so we just need to stay positive and focused, continuing to work as we did so far.”
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 5th (20 points)
“I think our potential in Texas is higher than in the past, even though COTA is still a difficult track for us theoretically, as it features many tight, Formula-1-style corners and bumps that make it trickier to find the right setup. However, in Argentina, another tough circuit for us, we reacted well despite the fact that our weekend didn’t begin in the most ideal way. In general, we struggle more than others under acceleration at high lean angles because of my weight, but we’re improving in terms of tyre consumption. I want to further optimize how I manage the race as well, and to this end it’ll be crucial to start further ahead on the grid. We’ll need to work hard to fight for the top five once again, but I’m confident.”
The Mission Winnow Ducati team will resume action on Friday, April 12th, at 9:55 local time (16:55 CET) for the first free-practice session.
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