Andrea Dovizioso has warned the gains from Ducati’s “very interesting” 2020 prototype MotoGP chassis are “not as big as we want” after testing it at Valencia and Jerez.
Through the 2019 season, Dovizioso called for improvements to the bike’s turn in and he added that the new Ducati chassis has demonstrated improvement.
Chassis gains remain a significant target for Ducati for 2020 as it lacked the cornering abilities of Yamaha and Suzuki.
Dovizioso was the fastest Ducati runner in Valencia in eighth place, and he was 10th on the opening day at Jerez.
“We were able to make some tests, we couldn’t try everything we wanted, but we compared the chassis again and it was very important on this kind of track,” said Dovizioso.
“The improvement still is not as big as we want, but [this] is quite normal because the difference of the chassis was quite big.
“I think we have to study and analyse the feedback from this chassis more to make another step for the future.
“[It’s] a step forward, because there were no negative points, and this is good. But not that big.
“We would like to improve more in the middle of the corners, but we did a step so this is positive.
“It is very difficult to make a big step when you change chassis, but it was very interesting what we did with this chassis. But we need something more.”
Jack Miller, who tested the new chassis in Valencia as Danilo Petrucci was out of action due to a shoulder injury, went back to using the 2019 spec bike at Jerez and reckoned the new chassis helped in turning.
“It is always strange if you try a new bike especially in Valencia, back-to-back, with the bike you’ve been riding all season you have a great feeling for,” Miller said.
“Everything feels a bit strange, but we try and look at the positives and I think we found most of the positives out of it and understand where we should be.
“I think the new bike should help with places like here [Jerez] with these fast-flowing corners, but it is only speculation at the moment because I haven’t been able to ride it here yet.”
Miller also tested a new engine, which he praised.
“The character is nice, I think an improvement on last year’s [engine] and this is only the first step, I think they [have] got more stuff to do over the winter.
“[Smoother] and on the bike, I think it will be a lot easier to come into grands prix.”