This press conference held at the end of the Aragon Grand Prix brought together Marc Márquez (see here), Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Andrea Dovizioso, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
Andrea Dovizioso : “this is the way I want to see the weekend. Because we arrived here with a lot of confidence and our opponents thought we could easily win the race, but in Aragon it's never like that! I am very happy with how we have progressed compared to last year. That is THE point. I thought we could win, and I tried until the last round, but we have to study and analyze reality. The reality is that we have taken a big step forward. I think that from this race also we can learn something for the future. It's very, very positive. I was able to stay with Marc until the end. I expected him to struggle a little more towards the end, but he really had good speed. He drove very, very well because he lost a lot in the right turns, because of the tire he had, but he was better in the left turns. So I couldn't really fight with him. I tried a few times but didn't really have many cards. So 2nd is OK, and it's important for the future to progress again from what we learned this weekend, but we have to be very, very happy: from the first session until the race, our speed was very, very good.”
After you fought with Marc and Jorge during all the sessions, were you surprised to see Andrea Iannone with you during the race?
" A little. Since the tests I knew that Andrea had a very good pace, but you never know: sometimes he is fast during the tests but not during the race. So you never know what to expect. And when I saw the gap of 1,8 seconds that I had on Iannone, 2 laps later he was with us because we were fighting. So I thought he had better speed than us. But everyone struggled with the tires, so the real fight was between Marc and me. But I didn't have enough cards to really fight: I tried to stop him but he really made two very quick last turns. Didn’t give me the chance to stop it.”
You said yesterday that Honda maintains a handling advantage. How physical was this race for you?
“No, she wasn't physical, but I couldn't have done anything better. It's different. I didn't have any problems because of my physical condition, but with our bike we are not able to fight in a few meters. We can't be a little long and then come back very quickly, pick up the bike and accelerate well. So, because of the layout of the circuit, that’s why I couldn’t really fight until the end.”
You said you found something during the race that could help you for the future. Can you tell us more?
“It concerns our details. This isn't the place to talk about that, but when you fight the whole race, in this one against Marc, you can understand and analyze a lot of things that you don't normally see on TV. But when you're there, you can understand where it's better, where it's worse, does it have grip, how it uses tires, electronics, and a bunch of things. The main thing is to learn something, and small things are worthy enough of our attention.”
Were you more aggressive in this race than before?
" Not really. I'm aggressive when I have to be aggressive, or when I can be aggressive, or when I have to because I have no other cards to play. Not for any important reason. I already told the media before the weekend: I knew Marc wanted to win this race, it's one of his favorite circuits, and he really wanted to win here. That’s why I expected what happened: he wanted to be at his best and take risks, because he was able to take risks.”
Aragon was one of the circuits where Ducati was weaker and you were very strong. Does this mean that on the other circuits where you were weak, you were also stronger and that this will have an influence for the championship?
“Regarding the championship, I don’t think so. But for sure Phillip Island is the worst track for our bike, and it will be a really interesting weekend. This year I think we can really be competitive there. I don't think it will be like other circuits, but I think what happened this weekend is very important. More than in Misano! In Misano it was very important, but here even more so, because it confirms our progress. This progression is a reality, and it is even more important for the future.”
Do you think it is almost impossible to make up for your 72 points on Marc, and are you going to take more risks in the next 5 races?
" No. Catching up to 72 points in 5 races on Marc is impossible! The only way would be if he didn't run. And even like that, it would be difficult (laughs). So if we want to be realistic, no. In racing, anything can happen, so it’s still open because it’s mathematically possible, but you know the situation.”
Aragon Grand Prix MotoGP Race classification:
Photo credit and ranking: MotoGP.com
