But where will he stop? After a magnificent historic victory at Mugello, a triumph in Barcelona and the valuable points from a well-managed race at Assen, Dovi confirmed his impressive current form by setting the fastest time of the first day at the Sachsenring.
The new leader of the World Championship won during the first free practice session, ahead of Maverick Vinales by three hundredths, the very man he has just dispossessed from the world leadership. The gaps compared to his opponents were not huge, which seemed normal on the smallest circuit (3,7 km) on the calendar.
The session was extended to 55 minutes, instead of the usual 45, so that the teams could better develop their machines on this track with its completely resurfaced surface, and without the slightest day of preliminary testing. The Desmosedici GP17 did very well.
In the afternoon on the wet asphalt, the kid from Forlimpopoli did not take excessive risks – it is not in his nature – but nevertheless secured a good seventh place. 6 Ducatis appeared in these conditions among the first 13. This first day did not make Dovi the favorite of the event, but it is certain that he will not be easy to beat.
According to Andrea Dovizioso, “ In general, today was a positive day: I am very satisfied with the way we started this morning and, in the dry, we confirmed the positive trend of the last races.
“In the afternoon, on a wet track, we struggled a bit like at the start of the session in Assen and so we need to work on that a bit.
“In any case, we managed to improve during the session and at the end, when I attacked a lot, I was turning like the fastest riders, but I still don't have the feeling with the front that I had last year. »
Results of the first day:
1- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – 1'21.599
2- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.038
3- Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team - Honda RC213V - + 0.190
4- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Gresini Racing Team – Aprilia RS-GP – + 0.233
5- Alvaro Bautista – Pull & Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.241
6- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.299
7- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.374
8- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.393
9- Jack Miller – Marc VDS 0.0 EG – Honda RC213V – + 0.469
10- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.476
11- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.576
12- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.610
13- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 0.641
14- Hector Barbera – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – 0737 +
15- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 0.866
16- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.936
17- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 0.994
18- Karel Abraham – Pull & Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.013
19- Alex Rins – Ecstar Team Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 1.043
20- Tito Rabat – EG 0.0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 1.146
21- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1.289
22- Loris Baz – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.390
23- Mika Kallio – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1,619
24- Andrea Iannone – Ecstar Team Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 1.700
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 115 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 111
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 108
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 104
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 87
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 77
7 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 62
8 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 60
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 58
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 51
11 Jack MILLER-Honda 40
12 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 34
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
14 Loris BAZ-Ducati 31
15 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 28
16 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 23
17 Tito RABAT-Honda 23
18 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 21
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 20
20 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 11
