MotoGP Jerez: Andrea Iannone “We always work from a race perspective, but here it's tough”

At the end of the MotoGP class qualifying in Jerez we spoke with Andrea Iannone, Ducati Pramac rider. The driver from Abruzzo spoke about the difficulties encountered on this track (but which were nevertheless foreseen, given that the circuit is not very suited to the GP14) about his expectations for tomorrow (in FP4 he was strong, achieving the sixth fastest time), not neglecting also his working method.

Andrea, tell us about this day of rehearsals, what were your biggest difficulties?

“Here we weren't able to take advantage of the soft tyre, but I must say that this is nothing new at all, in fact I set the same time as in FP4 on the hard tyre. For me the two tires are absolutely the same, in fact I feel better with the hard one."

Does it depend on your driving style or the circuit layout?

“My driving style certainly doesn't make much use of power when accelerating, but prefers cornering speed or braking more decisively. And obviously this circuit with curves that "go back" doesn't help."

How do you "see" the race then?

“I'm supposed to be a wizard! We can say that it is a bet. As mentioned before, in free practice with the hard tire I went fast and my ideal time is even better, given that on that lap I overtook both Hayden and Redding. The truth is that after a few laps the tire slips a lot! I know how the Ducatis react, but we'll have to see what the others who finished behind me in free practice will do."

Is it an obligatory choice for tyres?

“Absolutely, both behind and front we will use the harder one (the 33 on the front).

Does the discussion you were making before about how to exploit the tires "limit" you?

“Everyone has their own methods to go faster. We limit the damage with wide tracks and mileage, problems occur on tracks like this. A fast lap could also be possible, but I prefer to work for the race, therefore on the distance and not on the single lap.”

Photos: Alex Farinelli