The MotoGP season finally begins at Jerez for the Ducati Team

Usually at this time of the year the MotoGP World Championship is already in full swing, but the global pandemic effectively blocked activity at all levels, meaning that the season could only begin in mid-July. This year's calendar will be greatly reduced in terms of dates and with repeated races on the same circuit a week later, but it was the only solution that allowed the championship to take place in an acceptable manner.

The last time MotoGP 2020 was in action was all the way back in February when the usual pre-season tests were held in Malaysia and Qatar. During the test runs Dovizioso and Petrucci began to develop the 2020 version of the Desmosedici GP with good res ults. At Jerez the first challenge will be to get their heads back in the game, getting used to the rhythm of the weekend and competing!

Both Ducati riders have the necessary experience to deal with this anomalous situation, although Dovizioso will be arriving in Spain recovering from a recent shoulder injury. But Andrea's physical condition should still be good given the speed of his rehabilitation. 

As this is the first race of the season it's necessary to mention all the Ducatis on the track in addition to the official team, starting from the Pramac Racing team with Jack Miller (who just signed for the next season) and Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia who will be called upon to show off the talent that won him the world title in Moto2.

Another Moto2 champion, Johann Zarco, has joined Reale Avintia Racing and will be paired with the great Tito Rabat. The aggressive French rider offers the Spanish team a good chance to finally compete for the top positions in the rankings.

The Spanish asphalt has a unique characteristic that makes it extremely smooth, and this always creates great difficulties for riders. The general lack of grip causes a rather accentuated level of degradation of the tyres, and therefore their level of performance plunges rapidly during the race. The race simulation carried out during the qualification runs and, consequently, the choice of the right tyres was one of the key factors for consistent performance at Jerez. 

In addition to tyre wear, the Andalusian circuit puts pressure on other aspects: from the chassis, due to the long series of hard corners, to the brakes, with two decelerations at turns 1 and 6 that engage the brake systems for more than 200 m.