Racing in cool but dry conditions in front of a crowd of 142,030 spectators, Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the Czech Republic GP at the Brno circuit.
Having started from the ninth and tenth spots on the grid, Dovizioso and Hayden found themselves in those same positions at the completion of lap one, and they proceeded to race one another nose-to-tail for all twenty-two laps. Both Ducati Team racers picked up positions when Bradley Smith and Cal Crutchlow crashed in separate incidents, and when the chequered flag flew, the Italian was in seventh place, with his teammate just .339 seconds behind, in eighth.
Next weekend will find the Ducati Team racing for the third time in as many weeks, this time at the Silverstone Circuit, site of the British Grand Prix.
Andrea Dovizioso - Ducati Team, 7th
“For what we could expect today, I’m pretty pleased because I was able to have a consistent pace, and I managed to get under 1’58” at the end of the race. I did the whole race in front of Nicky; I pushed my hardest, and I didn’t make many mistakes. I’m happy with my performance, but of course the gap is too much; 35 seconds is really a lot.”
Nicky Hayden - Ducati Team, 8th
“Once again, the guys in front were quite a bit quicker than us. Dovi got away from me in the beginning, but I was able to bring him back and race with him a bit. He was right in front of me at the end, but there was really nowhere to put in a clean pass without making it touchy. He rode a great race and covered all the lines the last couple laps. The bike was definitely better in the warm-up, and then in the race, I felt the best over the bumps that I have all weekend. I did the sighting lap on the hard front tyre, but I switched to the soft on the grid. It was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out to be the right choice.”
Ducati Team Press Release
