Ducati MotoGP newboy Andrea Dovizioso only managed three laps during testing at Jerez when an old neck injury he aggravated in a motocross crash last week reared its ugly head.

The Italian was due to evaluate a new frame and swingarm alongside team-mate Nicky Hayden at the Spanish track but he was unable to ride.

“It’s a shame about the problem with my neck. It’s something I had experienced at the GP in Malaysia, where I crashed twice, and in Australia, where I crashed once, and both times I had physiotherapy treatments and anti-inflammatory medicine," said Dovizioso.

"It re-emerged last week two days after a crash on my motocross bike, but the same treatment worked and I felt fine when I came to Jerez for the test. Unfortunately, it happened again after just a few laps, and this time we weren’t able to resolve it with physio and anti-inflammatories. It seems that the problem is probably bigger than we had previously thought, and I’ll have to undergo some further medical tests.”