During this post-race conference of the British Grand Prix which also brought together Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso answered various questions from journalists.
As usual, in order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer you a “raw” translation of the entirety of Andrea Dovizioso's words, without any formatting.
Andrea Dovizioso : “I'm a little surprised because, before the race, I had a good feeling after the warm up, but not enough to win the race. I expected the Hondas to be really competitive but that didn't happen. During the race we have to drive in a completely different way than in practice, and that changes everything. For most of the race, for most of the time, I was very comfortable and was able to save the tires. I saw Maverick and Marc, and I was with them. We did the same things and it gave me the possibility of arriving at the end of the race with more grip. I was losing a lot in some corners but I was able to improve the skating a little in some corners by seeing the way they took those corners. With this grip, I was able to overtake drivers relatively easily and put myself in the right place at the right time. This was the key to the race because I was not faster than my opponents. »
You lead the championship with a nine-point lead and you arrive at your home Grand Prix…
“What happened today is something special for us. Regarding the championship, we are there, we are leading, but apart from that we are showing everyone that we have a chance to fight for the title. I know that the championship is very long and that the opponents are very strong, riders and bikes, so it will be 100% open until the end. But we won four races in different ways, which means we have a good base and we work very well over the weekend. And when we are not the fastest, we stay calm and we continue to work like we did today, and we race with a good feeling trying to get the maximum. And today the maximum allowed me to fight for victory, which we did not expect, but I was able to seize this opportunity. So I'm very happy with the way the team works, the bike has positives and negatives but I was able to play with it and use its positives, while trying to manage its negatives, and it gave me the opportunity to stay with them. »
The championship is very close. Can you make any predictions?
" No. Now we are a little further ahead in the championship but I am convinced that until the end it will be completely open. Because with each race, everything can change. Look at Mark. In the last few races he created a gap and he seems to be the fastest. Today he had some bad luck but it's something that can happen, so it's completely open. But we talk too much about the championship, I don't think it's the right time. Everyone must attack 100% and get the maximum because the difference in points in the championship is very small. Six races are a lot of points so we have to keep thinking race by race. »
You have achieved four victories on four different tracks and in four different ways. Does this mean that the Ducati is the most balanced bike at the moment?
“Well, it's hard to say no at the moment, because from Italy our balance is really good. Also, when we didn't make a podium, at Assen, we were fastest at the end of the race when it started to rain. So it looks like with the new rules, and the tires we have this year, we have a very good balance. Maybe the best, but that was easy to say because in the last four races, Marc has been very, very fast. But every race, it's hard to say. And I am happy. »
During the race, did you think about the championship or did you enjoy fighting with your opponents?
“I’m not thinking about the championship. I was comfortable during the race, and when you are comfortable you can play. It was fun managing the tires, riding with Marc, Cal, Maverick, Rossi and me. It was really nice to fight with them, and in a nice way, so it was a fun race. »
Is this the most exciting championship of your career?
“For me, it’s easy to answer yes! (laughs) »
These excellent results obtained during the last races, we owe them to a new Ducati a new Dovizioso?
“It’s always a balance. Let's say 60% Dovizioso, 40% Ducati (smiles). But it's always a balance. »
At the start of the year, do you think you could lead the championship with 6 races remaining? Is the Ducati at a higher level than you expected?
“No, of course we didn't expect to be in this situation and win four races. But for me, it's difficult to answer, it's not very clear. We improved a little but it's difficult to know exactly what the opponents did. It seems like some opponents have a lot of ups and downs, and that seems pretty strange to us. Normally we don't see this. Especially for Yamaha. But I don't know what's going on, I can't know what's going on, so I can't know how much of it is the good work we've done or the work the adversaries have done in a bad way. I don't know. But certainly, we didn't expect this. »
Honestly, what was your reaction when you saw that Marc was out of the race, and how did you manage the race afterwards?
“For me it was very difficult to understand what was happening during the race regarding the other drivers, because the longest straight is very short here, and it is very difficult to see the signs. I saw that Marc was at Out, but for example, during the last five laps, I didn't know that there were four or five of us. I thought I was alone with Valentino. I didn't understand that. When I saw the sign, I didn't change my strategy because I felt comfortable. I saw that Valentino was slowing down a little bit and struggling with his rear tire, so I thought I had to take this opportunity and I had to fight for it during the last three laps. But in the end, I saw Maverick coming back and I attacked 100%. It was very tight but I was able to manage. »
Does Jorge help you reach this level?
“Yes, it’s true, my team is working very well this season. Last year too, but this year even more so. This made the difference in most races, especially when you have to manage the tires and make the right decisions, i.e. choosing how you should drive during the race. Everything is a help. The arrival of Jorge helps to confirm to the engineers how the bike is. So it doesn't help to improve the bike much because we haven't changed it much since the winter until now, but every single thing helps. »
| Pos | number | Pilotes | Motorcycles | Deviations |
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 40'45.496 |
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +0.114 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +0.749 |
| 4 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +1.679 |
| 5 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +3.508 |
| 6 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +7.001 |
| 7 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +10.944 |
| 8 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | +13.627 |
| 9 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +15.661 |
| 10 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +25.279 |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +30.336 |
| 12 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | +31.609 |
| 13 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | +31.945 |
| 14 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | +33.567 |
| 15 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | +33.901 |
| 16 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | +43.012 |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +48.683 |
| Unclassified | ||||
| 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 2 towers | |
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 3 towers | |
| 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 3 towers | |
| 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 7 towers | |
| 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | 15 towers |
