Andrea Dovizioso will undoubtedly keep good memories of this Friday spent on the Bugatti route. He finished it with the best time of the practice sessions with a new track record to boot, and he secured a new future in red until 2020. This is enough to boost his morale after the frustration of Jerez. But to get there, he had to not give in and DesmoDovi explained how he ended up coming to an agreement with his current employer…
Andrea Dovizioso did not mince his words in a press conference where he revealed some of the secrets that led to the renewal of his contract with a Ducati factory that he has served since 2013. But he spoke politely and calmly. Which does not prevent sincerity and transparency… “ we must make no secret of the fact that a pilot, if he wants to create the conditions around him to be fast, must above all think only of himself. That’s how it is, that’s the race. I was open to all options, I spoke with other teams, and if you want a good contract you have to make everything in it very clear ».
To make himself understood, he insists: “ you can't just rely on your faith for a team. Only like this can you find the best path for you. Last month I saw that Ducati was making an effort to reach an agreement with me. Everything then became clearer and we talked about the details of the contract. I also saw that I had a lot of support from managers at Ducati ».
We will not know who Dovi wants to talk about, and we will not know the content of these “details”, which, obviously, were not… “ I know a lot about Ducati now, just like Ducati knows a lot about me. My situation has changed since the last negotiations two years ago. Now we're playing the title, and no one believed I was capable of it until now. Now we have almost three years to get there. We're going to fight for this title ». Andrea Dovizioso, at 32, has drawn up his roadmap.
HJC French Grand Prix J.1: Chronos
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'31.936 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'32.104 | 0.168 | 0.168 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'32.179 | 0.243 | 0.075 |
| 4 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'32.204 | 0.268 | 0.025 |
| 5 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'32.279 | 0.343 | 0.075 |
| 6 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'32.302 | 0.366 | 0.023 |
| 7 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'32.414 | 0.478 | 0.112 |
| 8 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'32.466 | 0.530 | 0.052 |
| 9 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'32.572 | 0.636 | 0.106 |
| 10 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'32.576 | 0.640 | 0.004 |
| 11 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'32.586 | 0.650 | 0.010 |
| 12 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 1'32.617 | 0.681 | 0.031 |
| 13 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'32.647 | 0.711 | 0.030 |
| 14 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'32.752 | 0.816 | 0.105 |
| 15 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'32.803 | 0.867 | 0.051 |
| 16 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'32.851 | 0.915 | 0.048 |
| 17 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'33.072 | 1.136 | 0.221 |
| 18 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'33.318 | 1.382 | 0.246 |
| 19 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'33.435 | 1.499 | 0.117 |
| 20 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 1'33.667 | 1.731 | 0.232 |
| 21 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'33.830 | 1.894 | 0.163 |
| 22 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'33.942 | 2.006 | 0.112 |
| 23 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'34.089 | 2.153 | 0.147 |
| 24 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 1'34.311 | 2.375 | 0.222 |
