In Argentina Andrea Dovizioso had to settle for third place. An encouraging result for the Italian, though he remains a little put out by the fact Valentino Rossi got past him on the final lap.

That's all in the past though, and now it's best to focus on the present, or rather the Austin round: “The way in which we worked in Argentina will be a good starting point for our next race at Austin. Even though the track is not the most suitable for us, I'm confident that, if we manage to improve in each session as we did at Termas de Río Hondo, we'll be competitive come race time, which is the most important thing."

The Ducati rider has clear ideas: “Our goal at Austin is to step once again on the podium, which in some ways would count as much as a win, but we'll need to assess the state of the track before we make any predictions. Last year the tarmac was really bumpy, and I hope the situation has improved since then. We know each race is a different story, so we just need to stay positive and focused, continuing to work as we did so far."

The Ducati camp also expects good things from Danilo Petrucci, still seeking the right confidence with the red bike in the races: “I think our potential in Texas is higher than in the past, even though COTA is still a difficult track for us theoretically, as it features many tight, Formula-1-style corners and bumps that make it trickier to find the right setup. However, in Argentina, another tough circuit for us, we reacted well despite the fact that our weekend didn't begin in the most ideal way."

Danilo sums up the current situation: “In general, we struggle more than others under acceleration at high lean angles because of my weight, but we're improving in terms of tyre consumption. I want to further optimize how I manage the race as well, and to this end it'll be crucial to start further ahead on the grid. We'll need to work hard to fight for the top five once again, but I'm confident."​​​​​​​