The Ducati Team is ready to get back on track this weekend for the fourteenth and final round of the 2020 season; the Portuguese Grand Prix. The venue for the event, which returns to the calendar this year after the last edition held at the Estoril Circuit back in 2012, will this time be the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve do Portimão, which will host the MotoGP World Championship for the first time this weekend.
For the Ducati Team riders, this will not be their very first experience on the Portuguese track. Both Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci took part last October in a day of testing to familiarize with the circuit layout on a Ducati Superleggera V4 machine, while Michele Pirro and the Ducati Test Team ran there, also on the following day, on the same occasion.
The Portuguese GP will be Dovizioso’s last race together with Ducati after eight seasons which saw him collecting 14 victories, 40 podiums and six pole positions, and ending as runner-up in the Championship with the Italian squad in MotoGP for three consecutive years in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Dovizioso, who currently sits sixth in the overall standings on equal points with Quartararo fifth, still has a chance to fight for second and third place in the Championship and will aim to achieve this goal in the last round of the season.
After a difficult weekend in Valencia, Petrucci, who is currently twelfth in the standings, also arrives in Portugal determined to achieve a good result in his last Grand Prix riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP. The rider from Terni is one of the few riders on the grid to have previously raced in Portimão. In 2011, Danilo achieved his last success in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve on a Ducati 1098R, before moving to MotoGP the following year.
In the last Grand Prix of the 2020 season, the Manufacturers’ Championship will also be decided, with Ducati in second place, on equal points with Suzuki, the current leader. In the team classification, the Ducati Team is fourth with 203 points.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 6th (125 points)
“I am eager to get back on track this weekend in Portimão. Even though it will be tough, we can still challenge for second or third place in the championship, and it would be great to be able to end my adventure with Ducati and such a difficult season by achieving this goal. It will be my last race on the Desmosedici GP bike, and it will certainly be touching. We will race on a new circuit for MotoGP, and this will make the weekend even more special. I hope it will be fun!”
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 12th (78 points)
“Although we took part in a test at Portimão a few weeks ago riding a Superleggera V4 street bike machine, no rider currently has experience on a MotoGP bike at this track, so we will all start from scratch and with very few reference points. This will be my last race on a Ducati after six years, two of which I have spent in the official team. It will be an exciting weekend in many ways: I want to think about ending this adventure with a good result, and I will try my best to get it”.
The Portuguese Grand Prix will officially start this Friday at 10:10 am local time (GMT +0.00) with the first free practice session.
Circuit information
Country: Portugal
Name: Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
Track length: 4,6 km
Race distance: 25 laps (115 km)
Corners: 15 (6 left, 9 right)
Rider Information
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Number: 04
Age: 34 (born on 23rd March 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 326 (228 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: Qatar 2008 (MotoGP), Spain 2005 (250cc), Italy 2001 (125cc)
Wins: 24 (15 MotoGP + 4 250cc + 5 125cc)
First Win: Britain 2009 (MotoGP), Catalunya 2006 (250cc), South Africa 2004 (125cc)
Pole Positions: 20 (7 MotoGP + 4 250cc + 9 125cc)
First Pole: Japan 2010 (MotoGP), France 2006 (250cc), France 2003 (125cc)
World Titles: 1 (125cc, 2004)
Danilo Petrucci
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Number: 9
Age: 30 (born on 24th October 1990 in Terni, Italy)
Residence: Terni (Italy)
Races: 150 (MotoGP)
First GP: 2012 Qatar (MotoGP)
Wins: 2 (MotoGP)
First Win: Italy 2019 (MotoGP)
Pole Position: –
First Pole: –
World Titles: –
Championship information
Riders’ standings
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 6º (125 points)
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 12º (78 points)
Manufacturers’ standings
Ducati – 2º (201 points)
Teams’ standings
Ducati Team – 4º (203 points)
