Ducati have 🦋made no secret thaꦺt their main goal for 2018 is to reduce the Desmosedici's last remaining weakness; a resistance to turning during the transition from brake-to-throttle in the middle of the corner.

With last year's GP17 winning six races in the hands of tit🐬le runner-up Andrea Doviziღoso, the new bike is very much an evolution of its predecessor.

Dovizioso and🐲 team-mate Jorge Lorenzo each had⛄ one GP17 and one GP18 available to compare on day one of the Sepang test.

While the new bike doesn't seem to have hit the mid-corner bullseye, Dovizioso was 'surprised' to find it helped noticeably on corner entry. And a𒆙 better corner entry at least softens the mid-corner issues.

Dovizioso set the second fas♕test lap time, 0.343s behind Dani Pedrosa (Honda).

"We tried the new bike this afternoon. We will make a better co⭕mparison tomorrow but I'm happy because already we found some better parts," Dovizioso saiꦛd. "Especially in the last part of corner entry, the front is better. I'm able to enter a bit faster, this is really good and I'm surprised about that."

Asked to compare the step made with that of the first Ducati designed by Gigi Dall’Igna, the GP15, Do🐈vizioso replied:

"No that was bigger, but the GP14 was more difficult... but when you have a good base it's more difficult to improve the bike. For the engineers, what you have to do is ve✅ry very difficult. So I was a little bit surprised. Really happy about that, but still we have to work on the details.

"It was immediately better, but there is also a negative point like always. So we have to work and understand exactly what we can do, what margin 𒉰🐎we have with the new bike.

"So the corner entry was better, and this last part with braking and when I release the bra𝔉ke also affects the [mid-corner] turning a little bit. So the main diff📖erence is not in the [mid-corner] turning point, but [corner entry] also affects that turning point.

"That's what I felt today, but we have to confirm if it'ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs like this, especially at another track."

ꦛDucati has also added a few more horsepower to its already formidable engine for 2018, but Dovizioso made clear: "The biggest thing is the corner entry".

Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was third fa🍬stest, just 0.032s behind Dov༺izioso. Testing continues on Monday and Tuesday.