Andrea Dovizioso is confident that the neck injury that forced him out of last year's Jerez test will not cause him any trouble in the forthcoming MotoGP campaign.
The new Ducati rider managed just three laps of dry running in last November's private test at Jerez before being forced to stop because of neck pain. Speaking to reporters at Ferrari and Ducati's preseason media event in Italy, Dovizioso said his neck problem was not completely cured but he was sure it would not cause him any further problems.
"I did an NMR [Nuclear Magnetic Resonance] test, and that is when I understood that there was a problem," explained the Italian. "I had a micro-hernia at C5 and C6, which was fresh at the time.
"I had an initial problem in the car at the Monza Rally, but cars were new to me and it was difficult to understand what I had.
"I had all the treatments and thought I was fine, but then because of the cold [at Jerez] and the problem with braking, when I first hit the brakes on the straight – even without pushing – I [hurt] myself and there was no way of improving my health scenario, even with drugs.
"On the bike it is an unnatural position with the head rotating, but I was able to do the SuperMoto [charity] race because you have a more straight position, and it was an important race for [Marco] Simoncelli. So I did all these treatments during the winter with oxygen injections to stabilise and dehydrate this micro hernia. It has improved but it takes a long time to solve.
"I am fine [now]. I am training but I am still not at 100 percent. I hope and I think I will not have any problems in the future."
Dovizioso is next expected to ride a MotoGP bike at the forthcoming preseason test in Malaysia, Feb. 5-7.