MotoGP Aragon: Andrea Iannone, “Quite positive race”

Andrea Iannone MotoGP 2015 Ducati – Andrea Iannone achieved fourth place in the Aragon Grand Prix, the penultimate European stage of the 2015 world championship, which will now move overseas for the races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia, before the finale in Valencia, scheduled for November 8th. Here's what the Ducati rider, who started from the front row, had to say.

“It was a fairly positive race, we always managed to improve the bike, we did well in FP4 and also in qualifying. I am satisfied with the team work, we managed to improve the GP15 by gaining a few tenths at each outing. I was a bit afraid of the situation with my shoulder, because it's one thing to do a few laps in practice, it's another thing to do more than twenty consecutive laps in a race, pushing so as not to let the others escape, especially if you're fighting for the podium. We also did an excellent job with the Mobile Clinic, because today for the first time we used painkillers and the shoulder is still sleeping, let's hope that when it wakes up it won't hurt too much (laughs, ed.).”

How much did the shoulder affect the fight for the podium?

“To be honest, I don't think so much, only towards the end, when there were 6/7 laps to go, I felt a little tired, but the pain wasn't there. Up to that point I kept a constant pace, then it was more tired."

What didn't allow you to keep up with Pedrosa and Rossi's pace?

“At the beginning, with a full tank of petrol, I struggled to brake and I didn't have full control of the front. Then when I started to recover I had a great feeling with the bike and I was also able to change the map quickly, which helped me with the grip. It was still very difficult, they had those 2/3 tenths more and already yesterday we knew that we would have to find something more to stay with them. It's still important to have tried.”

Having ridden close to Honda and Yamaha, what are the main differences with your bike?

“The positive note is certainly our speed on the straight, which helps us a lot. At the moment we gain a lot on the straights, on the other hand in the last part of the corner, just before lifting the bike we struggle to accelerate like them, the GP15 tends to slide at that point, but we are working."

You moved closer to third place in the championship given Marquez's crash

“This is another positive aspect, but to be realistic it's difficult, because at the moment Marc and Honda are stronger. However, they can make mistakes like today since they have nothing to lose, so we will try.”