Second-row start for Andrea Dovizioso, fourth in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. Danilo Petrucci barely missed out to access in Q2 and will start the Austrian GP from thirteenth position
Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci will start respectively from the fourth and thirteenth spots of the grid at the Austrian GP scheduled for tomorrow at the Red Bull Ring.
Second at the end of FP3 this morning, the rider from Forlì took part directly into Q2 this afternoon. Third in 1:23.606 just a few instants before the time ran out, Dovizioso missed the front row by only 69 thousand of a second, as he was pushed back into fourth place by the Desmosedici GP bike of Jack Miller – rider of the Pramac Racing Team – who moved up into the second position.
Danilo Petrucci will start from Row 5 with the thirteenth fastest time. The Umbrian rider, who was twelfth at the end of FP3 this morning, had to take part in Q1 this afternoon where, as he was also slowed down by the traffic on track, he couldn’t go beyond the third-fastest lap time and missed by only 24 thousands of a second the access to Q2.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1:23.606 (4th)
“I am pleased with today’s result. We managed to set some good lap times and find a good feeling with the bike, especially in braking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be fast in all sectors in one lap. Otherwise, I would have got on the front row. Tomorrow there will be many riders fighting for the victory, but we also have a good pace for the race. We still have some aspects that need to be improved, but, in general, I am satisfied with our work.”
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 1:23.915 (13th)
“Both this morning and this afternoon we missed the access to Q2 by only a few thousandths of a second but in general I am still satisfied. In FP4, we were able to find a solution that allowed us to improve our race pace. I’m adapting to riding the bike differently, and I think there’s still room for improvements. Our starting position for the race is not the best, but I am still positive. My goal for tomorrow is to stay as close as possible to the front.”
Tomorrow at 9:40 AM local time the Ducati Team riders will head back out on track again for the final 20 minutes of warm-up before the race, which will start at 2:00 PM local time on a 28-lap distance (GMT +2.00).
