#AragonGP MotoGP J.3 Andrea Dovizioso “Actually, the choice of tire was not the problem”

Qualified in seventh position on the grid, after relatively unconvincing tests, Dovizioso limited the damage in the race by saving the points for seventh place. He thus retained all his chances for the title, but lost sixteen precious points on Marc Marquez, who was alone at the head of the World Championship.

Dovi was not very optimistic when he arrived in Aragon, believing that Marc Marquez was unbeatable there. He wasn't really wrong, but we hoped for better for him and for Ducati than seventh position, especially since with the same bike his teammate Jorge Lorenzo got on the podium.

When the lights went out, Andrea made an excellent start from the third row which allowed him to complete the first lap in third position. He then stood out in a group of four where he closely followed Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. The man from Forlimpopoli attacked Marquez and took third position from him, but the future winner passed him on the tenth lap, before launching a victorious assault on the Rossi and Lorenzo citadels.

Dovi seemed to have fourth place within his reach, when suddenly Dani Pedrosa made an exceptional comeback from behind, which allowed him to move into second position. Andrea resisted as best he could, but had to give in to the attacks of Maverick Vinales, then Aleix Espargaro.

It was Dovizioso's third worst result this year, after his retirement in Argentina and his eighth place in Germany. For Dovi, the situation is not desperate, but above all it will be necessary to avoid repeating such a poor performance during one of the last four Grands Prix of this year.

According to Andrea Dovizioso, “It was not an easy weekend. Unfortunately, I was slow in three curves and this aspect conditioned the final result. The fact of not being able to work well on Friday weighed a lot more on us than on the other teams. In fact, tire choice wasn't the problem.

“Not having the speed, after ten laps, I had to force the rear tire, and therefore finished too early. Unfortunately, as I said, I was slow in three curves, 10-15-17. In the 10, our bike didn't turn like the others, while in the 15 we were fighting to accelerate. On this track, with low grip, I had no cards to play, so I had to limit the damage. 

“It's a shame to have left a few points on the track, but there are still four races. It's not easy with Marc and Maverick, but I have the opportunity to play and I will try until the last race.

“The competitiveness of Marquez is obvious to everyone, and Honda has improved compared to the start of the season, but so have we. Now we are 16 points behind him, but anything can happen.

“Sometimes it can be a limitation to use a hard tire, other times an advantage. Much depends on the conditions we encounter. For sure, this weekend, the software didn't help. The good thing is that in this World Championship, luck can change at any time. »

Ranking of the Aragon Grand Prix:

1- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 23 laps

2- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team - Honda RC213V - + 0.879

3- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 2.028

4- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 5.256

5- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 5.882

6- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 6.962

7- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 7.455

8- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 7.910

9- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 13.002

10- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 14.075

11- Mika Kallio – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 17.192

12- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 20.632

13- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 23.886

14- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 25.523

15- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 26.082

16- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 30.302

17- Alex Rins – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 31.874

18- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 31.948

19- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 36.296

20- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 37.842

21- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 47.599

22- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 47.647

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 224 points

2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 208

3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 196

4 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 170

5 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 168

6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 117

7 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 106

8 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95

9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92

10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84

11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 70

12 Jack MILLER-Honda 56

13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 56

14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 53

15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39

16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 37

17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 37

18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28

19 Tito RABAT-Honda 28

20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27

Photos © Ducati