Cal Crutchlow feels Ducati have plenty to work with over the winter after their first test together at Valencia. The Briton was tenth fastest but stressed he hadn’t been pushing for outright lap time and expects his feedback to have a positive effect.
“Today was a day about getting to know the team better and riding the Desmosedici some more. I can’t really say we found any particular setting that was a big advantage or a big disadvantage. I continue to give clear feedback and really reiterate what the other guys were saying, which is a key point that’s good; I’ve just come off another manufacturer’s motorcycle, so it’s good for Ducati that my feedback matches theirs. We didn’t need to push for a lap time. I was a little more cautious today than the other days, but overall, I think we gave Gigi and the Ducati guys something to work on over the winter. Now I look forward to the Sepang test.”
Teammate Andrea Dovizioso was ninth overall is also heading into the winter in a positive frame of mind and looks forward to trying out the GP14 in Malaysia next February.
“We had a few small things to try, like a throttle, a clutch, and a rear brake, but really nothing new, as we already tested the frame yesterday. The conditions today were really, really good, so we were able to make a good lap time, but the other riders also did really fast laps. This test served more to familiarize Gigi and to provide feedback to him to apply during his development work for next year. We can’t really know yet how the bike will be in Malaysia, so it’s too early to speak about that. For sure, I’m more confident for next year.”
