In line with the tradition of the last few years, the Ricardo Tormo circuit at Cheste on the outskirts of Valencia, is the venue this weekend for the nineteenth and final round of the 2019 MotoGP season – the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana – and the Ducati Team is already in Spain with the aim of ending the year on a high.
At the Valencia circuit Ducati has obtained three victories with three different riders: Bayliss in 2006, Stoner in 2008 and Dovizioso in 2018. But it has also picked up six more podiums here, which makes it one of the circuits where the Desmosedici GP has scored most podium finishes, for a total of nine. Andrea Dovizioso’s best result at Cheste was actually last year’s win in the rain, while his team-mate Danilo Petrucci’s best performance on this track was tenth place in 2015.
The Valencia race will also see a wild-card entry for Michele Pirro. The Italian, entered on a Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Test Team, will be taking part in his third GP this year, following Mugello and Misano, at a circuit where he won in Moto2 back in 2011, his only world championship win.
At Valencia the special MotoGP Teams’ classification will also be decided. This currently sees the Ducati Team in first place with a two-point lead over the Repsol Honda team. In the Constructors’ standings Ducati lies second, with a one-point advantage over third-placed Yamaha.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 2nd (256 points)
“The Cheste circuit has never been really easy for us, even though it’s true that last year we scored a great win in rainy conditions, which proved that anything can happen. Personally speaking, I really want to finish the season with a good result and safe in the knowledge that we gave our all right until the very end. The level of the championship is getting higher all the time, and we’ve seen this in the last three races outside of Europe, but I have confidence in the good job we’re doing to finish the championship on a high”.
Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 5th (176 points)
“For me this race is very important, because after a rather complicated second half of the season I want to finish the year with a good result. I don’t think we are that far away, but we still have to resolve a few details to be more competitive in the race. Valencia is a circuit that I like, and in the last few days I’ve managed to recover well from the consequences of the crash in Australia, so I think we can do a good race”.
Michele Pirro (#51 Ducati Team) – 22nd (9 points)
“I come to Valencia with good memories of fourth place last year, when we did a fantastic job. The conditions this year will certainly be different, but once again I can’t wait to race with the Desmosedici GP. In the last two seasons we’ve always finished this race in the top 10 and although the level is much higher this year and all the other riders have surely done more mileage in races than me, a finish inside the top 10 could be a good target for my weekend”.
The first free practice session for the GP de la Comunitat Valenciana will be held on Friday 15th November at 09.55 (CET) and the race takes place on Sunday at the usual time for rounds in Europe, at 14.00 (CET).
Circuit Information
Country: Spain
Name: Ricardo Tormo Circuit
Fastest Lap: Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1’31.171 (158.1 km/h) – 2016
Circuit Record: Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1’29.401 (161.2 km/h) – 2016
Top Speed: Dovizioso (Ducati), 335.9 km/h – 2015
Track Length: 4.0 km
Race Duration: 27 laps (108.1 km)
Corners: 14 (9 left, 5 right)
2018 Results
Podium: 1st Dovizioso (Ducati); 2nd Rins (Suzuki), 3rd P. Espargaró (KTM)
Pole Position: Viñales (Yamaha), 1’31.312 (157.8 km/h)
Fastest Lap: Dovizioso (Ducati), 1’41.863 (141.5 km/h)
Rider Information
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Number: 04
Age: 33 (born on 23rd March 1986 in Forlimpopoli)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 312 (214 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: 2008 Qatar (MotoGP), 2005 Spain (250cc), 2001 Italy (125cc)
Wins: 23 (14 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First Win: 2009 Britain (MotoGP), 2006 Catalunya (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: 29 (born on 24 October 1990 in Terni)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 136 (MotoGP)
First GP: 2012 Qatar (MotoGP)
Wins: 1
First Win: 2019 Italy (MotoGP)
Pole Positions: –
World titles: –
Michele Pirro
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Number: 51
Age: 33 (born on 5th July 1986 at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy)
Residence: Cesena (Italy)
Races: 101 (54 x MotoGP, 18 x Moto2, 29 x 125cc)
First GP: 2012 Qatar (MotoGP), 2010 Aragón (Moto2), 2003 Italy (125cc)
Wins: 1 (1 x Moto2)
First Win: 2011 Valencia (Moto2)
Pole Positions: 1 (1 x Moto2)
First Pole: 2011 Valencia (Moto2)
Championship Information
Riders’ Standings
Andrea Dovizioso (# 04 Ducati Team) – 2nd (256 points)
Danilo Petrucci (# 9 Ducati Team) – 5th (176 points)
Constructors’ Standings
Ducati – 2nd (302 points)
Teams’ Standings
Ducati Team – 1st (432 points)
