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Andrea Dovizioso could be facing one of the most important races of his MotoGP career this weekend in Austria.
He has complained bitterly since the start of the season that he and Ducati have been unable to find a way to make Michelin’s new grippier rear tyre work for them – and suffering in the results as a result.
But at the Red Bull Ring, MotoGP’s control tyre supplier Michelin is giving Dovizioso a golden opportunity to silence his critics and prove that he deserves to remain with the factory for 2021 and beyond.
With extremely high track temperatures generated by the Red Bull Ring’s long straights and abrasive asphalt, Michelin will this weekend revert to the old-construction tyre – meaning that Dovizioso now has two races in only eight days to show what he can do.
Ahead of the race weekend, Michelin MotoGP boss Piero Taramasso explained the decision to revert to the old option – something originally planned not just for the Austrian races but also for the now-cancelled Thai round.
“The races are certainly coming along at a fast rate, as this double-header will make it five races in six weekends since the start of the season, but this one is a little bit different as we have to change the construction of the rear tyre,” he said.
“Spielberg is very fast and demanding and the tyre builds up a lot of heat, so we use a tyre that can cope with that and give the riders the control from the rear that they need.”
“Regardless of my future I don’t accept a season like this and I don’t want to be beaten by the tyres” :: Andrea Dovizioso
With Dovizioso being so adamant that the problem lies with the new tyre construction this season, he can now use the 2019 set-up that hasn’t worked so far in 2020.
He was keen to downplay that going into the weekend, though, insisting that he’s trying hard to continue as usual and not stress about what may or may not happen on Sunday.
“It’s an important race because I’ve won twice here and it can be a better track for us,” said Dovizioso, who got off to a better start with second in opening practice.
“But if you race under pressure you’ll never get the results. The point is to ride the bike in the right way and to understand what is happening. We’re focusing on that, and we’ve been focusing on it in the last three races.
“Sometimes that takes time, because the change in the tyre is big, and you can see a lot of up and down from our competitors too.
“We’ve studied a lot, we have three races with important data from other riders, and we have to study it, to understand and to try and fix our limits.”
Another thing he’s adamant about is that the ongoing saga over his Ducati future isn’t the reason for his dip in performance.
Still to sign a future contract and even mentioning the prospect of a 2021 sabbatical, he says that the current lack of speed is all about the rubber.
“It is not the contract that has destabilised me, but the new tyre,” Dovizioso insisted.
“The situation was stable and clear until last year, when we had strong points and weak points.
“I don’t know how it will end with Ducati, but regardless of my future I don’t accept a season like this and I don’t want to be beaten by the tyres.
“We’ve all got along well as a team over the last few years and we want to continue working like this. Then we will find out what will happen in a short time.”
One rider who isn’t sure that the bigger solution will come for Ducati any time soon is LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow.
“You can’t just tell the rider every time, ‘change your style, change your style’. It doesn’t work like that” :: Cal Crutchlow
A very late braker just like Dovizioso and also no fan of the new Michelin rear, he says the onus should be on Ducati and not its rider to make the changes needed.
“It’s not like I can just go and change – we have to try and work with what we’ve got and make that work, to be able to be competitive,” he said.
“But when that will be, I have no idea. And I think, as I’ve said before, the manufacturer needs to research the tyre.
“All the manufacturers need to research the tyre and match it to the bike. And make the bike work with that tyre. Because everybody’s on the same tyre.
“Now you can’t just tell the rider every time, ‘change your style, change your style’. It doesn’t work like that.
“You have to ride to the style of the motorcycle that you have – so the motorcycle needs to change, not the rider.
“Dovi’s style obviously works. So the manufacturers and the teams need to help us with that, and hopefully they will.
“No excuses, everybody’s on the same tyre, so you have to try the best with what you’ve got.”
