Andrea Dovizioso managed to offer a front row to Ducati fans, always in large numbers during the Italian Grand Prix. He was only two hundredths of a second behind Valentino Rossi for second place on the starting grid, where he will also rub shoulders with Maverick Vinales, the man from pole position.
During free practice, Dovi achieved the eighth fastest time overall, 0.5 behind Valentino Rossi, but only 0.3 behind second Marc Marquez. He confirmed his good racing pace during the fourth free practice session, with the seventh fastest time just 0.2 behind leader Johann Zarco.
It was in qualifying that he achieved his best performance, with the third fastest time, 0.260 behind Maverick Vinales and 0.021 from Valentino Rossi. He was thus the fastest of the Ducati riders, but not by much as Michele Pirro ranked fourth, 0.043 behind him.
Dovizioso can therefore logically aim for a good place in the race this Sunday, he who already has three podiums as his best results at Mugello, with the third step in 2006 on his 250 Honda from the Humangest Racing Team, the second in 2011 in MotoGP on a Honda 800 RC212V, when he was Casey Stoner's teammate on the factory team, then third again in 2012 on a Yamaha Tech3. Since joining Ducati in 2013, Dovi has placed 5th, 6th, 3rd and 5th in the Italian GP.
According to Andrea Dovizioso, “I am very happy to start on the front row here at Mugello! Qualifying was not easy because it was very hot and therefore the grip was lower.
“My lap wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for a front row position and it confirmed the good work we did this weekend.
“I am also happy with my race pace because in FP4 we started with very worn tires and we had the same speed as the other drivers.
“I am confident for tomorrow, when we will see if the excellent work we have done in recent days will be enough to fight for the podium. »
Qualification results:
1- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 1’46.575
2- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 + 0.239
3- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP + 0.260
4- Michele Pirro – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP + 0.303
5- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V + 0.424
6- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V + 0.475
7- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP + 0.577
8- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP + 0.592
9- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP + 0.691
10- Tito Rabat – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V + 0.707
11- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 + 0.744
12- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP + 0.900
13- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V
14- Hector Barbera – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP
15- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1
16- Andrea Iannone – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR
17- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15
18- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16
19- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V
20- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP
21- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15
22- Sam Lowes – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP
23- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16
24- Sylvain Guintoli – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 85 points
2 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 68
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 62
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 58
5 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 55
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 54
7 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 40
8 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 38
9 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 38
10 Jack MILLER-Honda 29
11 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 26
12 Scott REDDING-Ducati 26
13 Loris BAZ-Ducati 19
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 17
15 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 15
16 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 14
17 Tito RABAT-Honda 13
18 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 12
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 9
20 Alex RINS-Suzuki 7
21 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 6
22 Bradley SMITH-KTM 6
23 Sam LOWES-Aprilia 2
24 Sylvain GUINTOLI-Suzuki 1
