The Ducati Team ready to begin the second half of the 2019 MotoGP Championship: first stop Brno for the Czech GP

After a three-week break, the Ducati Team is ready to resume action and begin the second half of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at Brno, home of the Czech GP and tenth round of the season. On the historic Moravian track, which opened in its current configuration in 1987, Ducati triumphed three times. In particular, the Italian factory achieved a fantastic double last year with Andrea Dovizioso ahead of Jorge Lorenzo in a sprint to the finish line.

Dovizioso, currently second in the championship with 127 points, has collected five podiums in total at Brno and is keen to take advantage of the characteristics of both the track and the Desmosedici GP to cut the gap from the leader. Petrucci, who always finished within the top ten at Brno with Ducati, is determined to start back strong and defend third position in the championship (121 points) after stepping on the podium in three of the last five races. After nine rounds, Ducati is second among Manufacturers with 157 points while the Ducati Team leads the Team rankings with 248 points.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 2nd (127 points)

“The summer break is always a good time to recharge and put things into perspective. Despite the fact that our position on the finish line at Assen and Sachsenring was acceptable, our feeling on the bike wasn’t been the best in those circuits. Without a doubt, we need to stay positive in this moment: we’ve worked hard under each aspect during these three weeks and we’re ready to tackle the second half of the season with great motivation. We’ll race on tracks where we should be very competitive and able to show our full potential.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 3rd (121 points)

“After some nice holidays I can’t wait to get back on the bike. I like Brno as a track, and the Desmosedici GP has always been quite competitive there, last year in particular. I finished sixth in that race, but only three seconds behind the winner, and I think this weekend we’ll have another good chance to achieve a strong result. Our team has been working hard at home to move forward with the development, and I can’t wait to try some upgrades. It’ll be important to restart on a positive note because after the summer break sometimes the scenario often changes and we want to show we’re ready for the second half of the championship.”

The Ducati Team will resume action Friday, August 2nd, at 09:55 local time (CET) for the first free-practice session while the race is scheduled to start Sunday, August 4th, at 14:00.

Circuit information

Country: Czech Republic

Name: Automotodrom Brno

Best lap: Marquez (Honda), 1:54.596 (169.7 km/h) – 2016

Circuit record: Pedrosa (Honda), 1:56.027 (167.6 km/h) – 2014

Top speed: Iannone (Ducati), 316.4 km/h – 2015

Track length: 5.403 km

Race distance: 21 laps (113.5 km)

Corners: 14 (6 left, 8 right)

2018 results

Podium: 1st Dovizioso (Ducati); 2nd Lorenzo (Ducati), 3rd Marquez (Honda)

Pole Position: Dovizioso (Ducati), 1:54.689 (169.5 km/h)

Fastest lap: Lorenzo (Ducati), 1:56.640 (166.7 km/h)

Rider information

Andrea Dovizioso

Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP

Race Number: 04

Age: 33 (born on 23 March 1986 in Forlimpopoli)

Residence: Forlì (Italy)

Races: 303 (205 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)

First GP: 2008 Qatar (MotoGP), 2005 Spain (250cc), 2001 Italy (125cc)

Wins: 22 (13 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)

First Win: 2009 Great Britain (MotoGP), 2006 Catalonia (250cc), 2004 South Africa (125cc)

Pole Positions: 20 (7 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)

First Pole: 2010 Japan (MotoGP), 2006 France (250cc), 2003 France (125cc)

World Titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)

Danilo Petrucci

Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP

Race number: 9

Age: 28 (born on 24 October 1990 in Terni)

Residence: Forlì (Italia)

Races: 127 (MotoGP)

First GP: 2012 Qatar (MotoGP)

Wins: 1

First Win: 2019 Italy (MotoGP)

Pole positions: –

World titles: –

Championship information

Riders standings

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 2nd (127 points)

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 3rd (121 points)

Manufacturer standings

Ducati – 2nd (157 points)

Team standings

Mission Winnow Ducati – 1st (248 points)