Andrea Dovizios😼o and new factory Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci took part in some formation riding on dജay two of the Sepang MotoGP test.

The pair rode togethe💜r for a two-part 20-lap race simulation, the first half of which saw Dovizioso leading Petrucci, before they pitted and returned with Petrucci in front.

For Petrucci it was an eye-openinꦜg experience that helped in his quest to extend tyre li♋fe, through lowering rear tyre temperature.

"I learned many, ma✤ny things, especial🐷ly when I was behind Dovi in the first part," Petrucci said.

"We started with a new tyre and Dovi is very good at going fast, but also saving the tyre. This is very difficult for me. I'm fast for one or two laps and then I begin to struggle with the rear t♑yre. But I learned many things by staying behind him.

"In the middle of the corner, I'm always too fast to open the throttle. And Dovi says 'it's the opposite, you have to wait, so stay calm with the th🍌rottle'.

"At the end [of the first part, while following Dovi] I said, 'it's incredible tha🐓t our tyres are almost new'. This never happened to me before. And it was my target for today; to be fast for 20 laps.

"I worked a lot in that part♌ and I'm happy because I understand now where the problem is and what is the cause.

"It's not easy, because when you areꦇ pushing 101% you always follow your instinct, especially during time attack. But I have to think about it because I don't miss speed, but I need consistency during the race.

"So it's important to understand for me, like Dovi showed ༒me, this is the way to go fast and save the tyre."

Petrucci admitted that when it was his turn to lead, for the second half of t💙he simulation, he had been worried he wouldn't be fast enough.

"I was a little bit scared and I said to Dovi, 'If I'm not fast e🔥nough, please go'. But at the end I go very, very fast and we did out best times in the last two laps and it was quite impressive because with 20 ಌlaps on the tyre we did a 2m 0.4s.

"That's quite good for me. It's not enough to win🌌 the race, with this rider maybe not even the podium, but for su༒re it's a step up considering last year where we have been quite far from the podium."

While the team-simulation was a big help to Petrucci, the formaꦐtion riding also allowed Dovizioso and Ducati to check tyre temperatures when following another bike.

"In many races there are the problem of overheating the tyre w🐻hen you follow another rider and maybe 🐻Dovi was checking this thing," Petrucci said.

Dovizioso was f🔜astest for most of the 🌊day, being bumped to fourth in the final hour, while Petrucci was ninth quickest in terms of single lap time.

Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro was the only other rider to complete a race simulation on Thursday, with an average of 2m 1.106s o💖ver 20 laps.

Dovizioso's race simulation (20 laps, split 10+10)

2:01.100

2:00.444

2:00.670

2:00.614

2:00.537

2:00.774

2:00.637

2:00.891

2:00.886

2:00.276

-

2:01.602

2:00.976

2:00.664

2:00.745

2:00.753

2:00.479

2:00.604

2:00.555

2:00.508

2:00.592

Average (combined): 2m 0.715s

Petrucci's race simulation (20 laps, split 10+10)

2:01.107

2:00.468

2:00.622

2:00.586

2:00.578

2:00.662

2:00.709

2:00.926

2:00.793

2:00.477

-

2:01.387

2:00.966

2:00.892

2:00.826

2:00.702

2:00.410

2:00.522

2:00.766

2:00.403

2:00.437

Average (combined): 2m 0.712s