What did Ducati find at the Catalunya test?

Forget mind coaches, if there was a single turning point for Andrea Dovizioso and Ducati's season it probably came during the private test at Catalunya, between the French aওnd Italian MotoGPs.

Exactly what was tried ("somethi🧸ng different") remains a mystery, but there were rumours of new chassis parts.

Since the end of the season Ducatiꦆ Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, team manager Davide Tardozzi and test rider Michele Pirro have all 🐼made reference to the test as a key moment.

Dall’Igna: "We fought back from a tough situation [early in the season] and from the test in Barcelona we🧸 improved the performance of our bike ಌquite a lot, on the technical side."

Tardozzi: "We found something after the Barcelona test. We understood that we ha𝔉d something that can be good and it was confirmed at the Mugello a😼nd Catalunya [races]."

Pirro: "Aft🐎er the Barcelona test we found some solutio𝄹ns that gave [Dovi] much more confidence. This was an important step and when he managed to win at Mugello, I think his season changed."

Following the Barcelona test, Dovizioso took the first back-to-back race wins of his grand prix career, at Mugello and Catalunya. It was a feat made all the more impressive since Mugello ma🅘rked the debut of the stiffer Michelin front tyre, a change Ducati had strongly objected to.

What if Rossi wasn't injured - twice?

Given the problems experienced by Movistar Yamaha at low grip and wet events such as Jerez, Catalunya, Motegi, Sepang and Valencia this season, Valentino Rossi doesn’t think his broken leg prior to Misano 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:made mu༒ch difference to his championship 🐈position.

But🃏 Rossi also suffered a training injury before his previous home round at Mugel♏lo (fourth in the race), which was followed just one week later by the Catalunya Grand Prix.

Rossi's later heroics oꦏn his early return from the leg injury at Aragon are well known (third in qualifying, fourth in the race) but what could he have done without theꦛ training injuries.

The Italian would surely have scored more points and, while it might not have been enough to overcome the bike issueওs for a title fight, might Rossi have finished the season as the top Yamaha rider?

Team-mate Maverick Vinales was third📖 in the world championship, two places and 22 points ahead of Rossi…

Would Lorenzo have let Dovizioso by?

Despite all the debate over Ducati's (attempted) use of team orders via the 'suggested mapping' messages at the last two💎 rounds, at no time did Jorge Lorenzo actually let Andrea Dovizioso by.

In Malaysia it was a mistake by Lorenzo that allowed Dovizioso through, while at Valencia Lorenzo remained 🐓just in front of the title contender until falling.

Lorenzo said he didn't see the dashboard message in Sepang but 168🦹澳洲5最新开奖结果:was praised by Ducati management after the race, presumably for not trying to re-pass.

And if Lorenzo's stated pl൲an had worked in Valencia - meaning he had caught the lead group, towing Dovizioso with him - would Lorenzo then have pulled aside, w🐻ith his first Ducati victory within reach?

By the Valencia test, Lorenzo was growing tired of the questioning over his decisio🍬n to override team instructions in the season finaleꦓ:

"I don't understand w🌳hy there is still this polemic. For somꦦe people it looks like everything I do is bad.

"I'm quiet because I think I made the right decision. The ꦑpeople who just watch the race on Sunday don’t understand the pace of all the riders on the grid, during all weekend. The ones who are experts know Dovi's pace and what happened in the race.

"I repeat, maybe in some corners or in some moments of the race I could slow Dovi down a little bit. But in general terms - over 30 laps - I'm still convinced that [Dovi following] my wheel♊ helped him to be more competitive. As he has said.

"After he💛 said that, I think nobody should keep talking about it. Because if Dovi says I helped him to be more comfortab🎃le and faster, I think the matter is finished."

The only time a Ducati rider allowed Dovizioso to pass this season, following a team message, was Scott Redding at Phillip Island. The Englishman later got a frosty reception♍ for re-passing the struggling Italian.

What happened to Vinales?

Fastest in every winter test and winner of three of the opening five races, Maverick Vinales was the runaway early title favourite. B✤ut he didn't win another race and dropped out of mathematical championship contention with two r🌄ounds remaining.

Yamaha's 2017 bike problems in the wet and low grip are well known, but team-maꦜte Valentino Rossi later managed a win at Assen and the real mystery was why Vinales wasn't able to repeat his earlier dominant form even on high-grip circuits.

Maybe it was the change in front tyre construction? After all, Vinales didn't win after t🌊he switch to the stiffer design from Mugello. Or did the constant supply of revised chassis designs from Yamaha end up causing confusion?

Perhaps the bi🐈ggest problem for Vinales and Yamaha after Le Mans - at circuits with grip - was simply that they couldn't match the pace of improvements by their main rivals.

Rossi found more confidence with the new front tyre, while progress by Ducati's Andrea ꧋Dovizioso (at the Barcelona test) and Honda's Marc Marquez (at the Brno test) saw them dominate the second half of the season.

Beyond Le Mans, Vinales twice finished runner-up twice (Mugello, Silverstone) and third on a further 🌜two occasions (Brno, Phillip Island).

What if Iannone didn't fall in Qatar?

Andrea Iannone qualified second on the grid (admittedly courtesy of free pra꧃ctice times) for his Suzuki debut in Qatar, and was running a close third when he crashed out at mid-race distance.

As well the chance of a podiඣum, Iannone was on co🍌urse to comfortably beat the sixth-place predecessor Maverick Vinales had achieved the previous season.

Howꦍ much difference might it have mad🌞e to Suzuki's season if he had stayed on?

With the team later hinting that motivation was a factor in Iannone's ꦯresults, might a debut rostrum on the GSX-RR have given the 🐲boost he needed to push through the difficulties that followed?

Instead, Suzuki spent much of the season floundering, the team's best result being a fourth place by rookie team-mate Alex Rins in the Valencia finale. Another big question is what Rins might have achieve🐽d without his Texas injury.

Either way, if had Iannone had claimed a podium in Qatar, Sജuzuki would not be regaining technical concessions for 2018…

That's just a start. Leave your unanswered questions in the comments section below...