MOTOGP: Ducati still chasing Michelin 'feeling'

Ducati admits it is still chasing "feeling" with MotoGP's new Michelin tires as the start of the new season approaches.

The Italian manufacturer launched its 2016 Desmosedici GP in Bologna on Tuesday, following initial tests at Sepang and Phillip Island over the last month. While the MotoGP field is also adjusting to the new Magneti Marelli control electronics, Ducati's focus for the final Qatar test next week will be on getting more out of the Michelins.

"In the Qatar test for sure we will do something on the setup of the bike," Ducati's MotoGP boss Gigi Dall'Igna said. "That means we will not carry with us some different parts of the bike, but we will work on the set-up of the bike to improve our feeling with the new tires. This is the main target that we have for the Qatar test."

Andrea Dovizioso agreed that tires were the focus and said that while Ducati had a low-key test at Phillip Island, it was happy with what it learned.

"We did a lot of laps, especially because we have to understand the tires," he said. "The tires are the key point in this moment, because they are really, really different and my feeling after the test in Phillip Island became much better about the tires.

"So I am really happy about that, and we need to confirm that in Qatar. It is a completely different track, but I believe there we can be more competitive and try to be ready for the first round."

Dovizioso and teammate Andrea Iannone will ride in the final pre-season test at Qatar on March 2-4, with Ducati to stay at the circuit for a further two days of private testing with the 2016 bike and returning test rider Casey Stoner.

"[It's] just to understand if we can find out something, other improvements on the bike and if we can understand a little bit better the behaviours of the bike with the new tires," Dall'Igna explained.

Originally on Autosport.com