Winner in Qatar with the strength of his wrist, sixth in Argentina by gritting his teeth and fifth in Austin by making the most of his equipment, Andrea Dovizioso does what it takes to play for the championship with what he has. And he is doing well since he is at the top of the provisional general classification. The 2017 world vice-champion is the key element of a Ducati factory whose GP18 does not work miracles. The Italian knows this and insists on this situation to better leave unclear what his future will be. Because to hear him, negotiations with his current employers are not that simple...
Andrea Dovizioso continues to be the tree that hides the forest at Ducati. He holds on to the ramp and presents himself as the leader of the title race after three meetings, while his teammate Lorenzo scored only six unfortunate points. That’s 40 less!
DesmoDovi is therefore worried and he does not hide his disappointment: “ I was hoping to be more competitive in Argentina and Austin. Certainly, last year, when I arrived in Jerez, I was in a more unfavorable situation in the championship. But if we have made progress in managing certain races which are difficult for us, it is still not enough to compete for a championship. We suffer too much on certain routes. We can at best play between eighth and sixth place. In Austin, we did our best after a complicated weekend ».
A fifth place which allows him to keep one point ahead of a Márquez again victorious in his Texan garden. “ I didn't expect a different situation, I suspected it from the tests this winter, but we always think of more. Last year, we were too bad in certain Grands Prix and it continues. Furthermore, it looks like Honda has taken a step forward, Yamaha is returning to form while Suzuki is progressing well. That's why I say that what we have is not enough ».
He insists : " I've always asked the same thing. We waste too much time at the apex on the other bikes. And what does it matter if you are good at accelerating and braking. It's difficult to find a solution. We made progress during the off-season but not enough. Getting fifth in Austin was too difficult ».
An expertise which raises questions about the continuation of the adventure in red Dovizioso : " my future ? It is obvious that if things were different, things would happen differently. But everyone does what they think is the right thing. We continue talking. We'll see ". Obviously, something is missing from Ducati to definitely seduce Dovizioso.
Austin MotoGP J.3: Ranking
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 41'52.002 |
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +3.560 |
| 3 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +6.704 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +9.587 |
| 5 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +13.570 |
| 6 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +14.231 |
| 7 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +18.201 |
| 8 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +28.537 |
| 9 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +28.671 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | +28.875 |
| 11 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +31.355 |
| 12 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +34.993 |
| 13 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +37.264 |
| 14 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +39.335 |
| 15 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +40.887 |
| 16 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +48.475 |
| 17 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +49.995 |
| 18 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | +51.115 |
| 19 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +59.055 |
| 20 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | +59.747 |
| 21 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | + 1'00.513 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 10 lapses | |
| 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 12 lapses | |
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 12 lapses |
