Ducati have enjoyed good pace so far in the 2016 season but they have only 122 points. This leaves them 12 points behind Suzuki in the teams’ championship plus only 15 ahead of Tech 3 Yamaha and level with Jorge Lorenzo. How have they ended up in such a lowly position in the championship? Well, so far they have racked up eight retirements but only four podiums and it’s mostly down to Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso themselves.
Obviously, the first thing that springs to mind is the crash in Argentina. That was the biggest blow. However, that hasn’t been the only crash from a good position.
As in 2015, Ducati looked very competitive at the season start. In Qatar, the Ducati pair ran 1-2 at the start of the race. Unfortunately, Iannone would slide out of the race and cost them a possible win as Lorenzo passed Dovizioso. Dovi would take 2nd but Ducati were left disappointed after such a promising start.
Argentina was next. The Ducati pair ran 4th and 5th for a lot of the race before Vinales crashed and they both managed to pass a struggling Rossi. Running 2nd and 3rd into the final corner, the Ducati team were ready on the pit wall to cheer their riders across the line. Out of the final corner came Dovizioso pushing his bike to the finish for a lowly 13th and Iannone was not in sight. Iannone had gone to steal 2nd place down the inside into the final turn and was too aggressive, causing him to fall into Dovizioso and leave them both in the gravel.
Further problems came for Dovizioso in the USA (being taken out by Pedrosa at Turn 1), Jerez (bike failure) and Le Mans (falling simultaneously with Marc Marquez). These run of problems massively dented any recovery being made following the problems of the first two races. Iannone had also only picked up a 3rd, 7th and DNF respectively in those races. The bike seemed less competitive as the European season had begun and Ducati had not taken as many points as they should have when they were looking quick.
They made a bit of recovery at their home race in Mugello with Iannone 3rd and Dovi 5th. However, it was a little underwhelming on a track that suits them well with a large straight.
After a decent points haul in Mugello the team once again lost points to trouble in Catalunya with Iannone crashing into Lorenzo and Dovizioso being off the pace and only managing 7th.
Some luck finally came to Ducati in Assen with rain falling on Saturday and Sunday. Iannone would start from the back as a penalty for hitting Lorenzo but Dovizioso would start pole and be one of the favourites to win. Throughout most of the races Dovi was up there along with the Satellite Ducatis too but he would fall from 2nd and end up with 0 points. Iannone recovered from the back to 5th but had he not fallen before the red flag before the first race he could have taken an unlikely victory to make up for Dovizioso’s disappointment.
In Germany, conditions were similar for race day and Dovizioso would again be at the front. He lead most of the laps but stayed out too long on a drying track and Marquez was able to gain victory. Iannone would have a better day in terms of strategy but lacked the ultimate pace and could only manage another 5th.
Going forward it’s clear to see that Ducati still have a good chance of recovering. The last two races have proved they are good in the wet and they were 1-2-3 in the Austria Test with Test Rider Casey Stoner competitive too. So more chances of victory are there. The next race in Austria could be their best chance, so watch out.
If they don’t win though, how might that affect Jorge Lorenzo in 2017? Going to a team that haven’t tasted victory since 2010 would not be the most encouraging thing ever for him for sure. If the team don’t win this might also hurt the motivation of the team going into next year which is not what Jorge will want in his new team.
