MotoGP Assen: Andrea Iannone, “I hope for a dry race”

Andrea Iannone MotoGP 2016 Dutch GP Team Ducati – Andrea Iannone achieved the ninth time in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, eighth stage of the 2016 world championship. Qualifying was characterized by the weather, with the riders taking to the track with rain tyres. Iannone set intermediates at the end of the session, but was still unable to improve his time. He would have started from last position anyway, given the penalty given to him in Barcelona after the collision with Jorge Lorenzo.

“It was a very positive day. I've been going fast since this morning and I have great pace in the dry. This is good news, given that tomorrow I will start from last position. In Q2 with the rain tires I didn't have a great feeling and I didn't do a great lap. So I decided to get the bike with a hybrid set-up and intermediate tyres. I took a risk because the line wasn't completely dry, it's a shame we weren't able to take advantage of the last lap. In the end, however, not much changes.”

Do you prefer a dry or wet race?

“I prefer a dry race and if conditions like those of Q2 were to arise again I could risk the intermediates. In fact, we have data and we can improve the bike.”

You're leaving last, what race are you expecting?

“I've never started so far back and I don't know what to expect. I've seen that there are riders who are usually in front, who are further back and others who are usually behind who are in the top positions. This could be a good thing. I will have to be patient, the first laps will be important, at Mugello despite being fourteenth on the first lap I had a great race, arriving on the podium. Patience always pays off, but it's not in my characteristics, but tomorrow I'll have to stay calm, it will be a long race, 26 laps, anything is possible.”

Has the bike improved in changing direction compared to yesterday?

“We arrived at a compromise, the guys did a good job and the bike improved quite a bit in direction changes. In fact, this morning I was more consistent than yesterday and despite using a used tire I did a 1'34.6"