---
title: "Disaster for Ducati in Argentina"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/04/10/disaster-for-ducati-in-argentina/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2017-04-10T12:12:37Z"
modified: "2017-04-10T12:13:03Z"
---

# Disaster for Ducati in Argentina

The factory Ducati team will be glad to see the back of the 2017 Argentina Grand Prix, as an already difficult weekend ended in a disastrous double DNF.

Both Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso had to go through the first part of qualifying having failed to make the top 10 at the end of FP3. A wet QP1 presented a golden opportunity for both, as the Desmosedici is a famously strong motorcycle in damp conditions.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/665883824.jpg)

However, both missed the cut and were stranded in 13th and 16th respectively. The podium was out of reach, but both believed a decent salvage operation could have been mounted in the 25-lap contest.

Lorenzo race lasted all of one corner. Feeling as if he had top six potential, Lorenzo rocketed off the line and made up a handful of positions by Turn 1. But he ran into the back of Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone and his race was ended on the spot.

“I had made a great start and managed to pass four or five riders, but coming into the first corner it was all rather chaotic, with a lot of riders trying to overtake each other under braking,” said Lorenzo.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/666615040.jpg)

“I was on the inside and suddenly found myself coming up on Iannone; unfortunately I touched his rear wheel and crashed out.

“It was a real pity that I never even managed to get through the first corner of the race, because today I had a good feeling with my bike.”

Team-mate Dovizioso was able to get off the line well and steadily make his way up the order, despite suffering with a lack of grip, and found himself hunting down sixth spot midway through the race.

Battling with Danilo Petrucci, Dovizioso was forced to run wide at Turn 5 to avoid his compatriot, and this opened the door for Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro to make a move.

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/04/666267852.jpg)

But the Spaniard tucked the front under braking and wiped the Ducati rider out, Dovizioso suffering a similar fate to that of 12 months ago when team-mate Andrea Iannone did the same thing.

His second place in Qatar keeps him third in the standings on 20 points, whilst Lorenzo languishes down in 18th on just five.

> Twitter: Good to see Espargaro rush over to see how Dovizioso is & apologise #Sportsmanship ![](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/svg/1f44d.svg)\
> \#ArgentinaGP https://t.co/Vtpp9SB7EB (@MotoGP)

“This was a strange race because, even though I actually had very little grip and I was not particularly competitive, I managed to recover well in the early stages and gain some positions,” explained Dovizioso.

“When I got involved in the fight with Danilo, who always brakes on the limit, I tried to find the right moment to pass him, but unfortunately at Turn 5 I was hit by Aleix Espargaro’s bike and crashed out.

“Here in Argentina, I don’t have any luck at all. I’m bitterly disappointed because being able to bring home probably a fifth place, in such a difficult weekend, would have been very important.”