#GermanGP MotoGP J.3 Andrea Dovizioso, “The risk did not pay off”

Having arrived as leader of the World Championship in Germany, Dovi left in third position. It was therefore not a triumph, but the leader of the Ducati team saved valuable points which allowed him to leave the Sachsenring 6 points behind Marc Marquez and 1 behind Maverick Vinales, preceding Valentino Rossi by 4 points.

If Andrea started the weekend strong with the best time in the first free practice session ahead of his main opponent in the Championship Maverick Vinales, the situation would soon get complicated. He qualified directly for Q2, but in eighth position, 0.04 behind the fastest Ducati driven by his teammate Jorge Lorenzo.

Ninth on the first lap of the race, he overtook Alex Espargaro, then Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo. Danilo Petrucci then suffered the same fate, and Dovi found himself fifth just behind Valentino Rossi, but under threat of Maverick Vinales who had joined them.

The fight was sumptuous. It seemed promising for a moment when on the eighteenth lap Dovizioso stole fourth position from Rossi. Then, Maverick Vinales managed to gain the advantage over Andrea and Vale. Dovizioso was unable to follow the two Yamahas, and he had to give in to the attacks of Alvaro Bautista, then those of Aleix Espargaro.

His final eighth place is a little disappointing, but the important thing is that he remains competitive in the Championship where the gaps are minimal between the top four. And the Desmosedici GP17 will find circuits more to its liking at the start of the school year, such as for example at the Austrian Grand Prix.

For Andrea Dovizioso, “ It's a shame about my final position. We chose the soft rear tire option for the race, but we didn't have much data because we didn't do many dry laps and unfortunately the risk didn't pay off.

“Today I missed the tire work window one hundred percent. Apart from the two in front, this was actually the case for all the drivers. The best had incredible pace at the end.

“Maverick and Valentino also had problems with their tires until the finish line. With my soft tire, when I tried to do four or five fast laps, the tire couldn't take it anymore.

“The problems started about 15 or 14 laps before the end. The drop in performance was clearly noticeable, with each round becoming more difficult. We obviously made the wrong tire choice. It annoys me because we lost some valuable points for the World Championship.

“But I can also take things in a positive way, because the feeling was not bad. And I was able to follow everyone except the first two, and play a little with Valentino and Maverick. I was a little faster, but I had to spare my tires, so I didn't want to completely attack them.

“Towards the end of the race I struggled because the tire performance dropped suddenly and a lot, but it's a very strange championship and it's not always easy to manage the different situations.

“In the end, the Sachsenring weekend was quite complicated, but also interesting for the future, because we were able to understand a little more, both on the bike and on the tires. In the race I felt good and I'm really happy with the feeling I had with my bike, so I think we can do well in the next races. »

German Grand Prix results:

1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 40m 59.525s
2. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 2.835s
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 41m 11.071s
4. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 13.778s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 41m 14.505s
6. Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) 41m 16.059s
7. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 41m 19.261s
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 19.713s
9. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 41m 20.663s
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 41m 23.735s
11. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 25.184s
12. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 41m 31.065s
13. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 31.704s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 35.978s
15. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 37.296s
16. Mika Kallio FIN Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 41m 37.377s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 38.848s
18. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 41m 40.715s
19. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 41m 59.375s
20. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 42m 1.189s
21. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 42m 1.220s