To Andrea Dovizioso, Years pass and are not alike. Last year, he signed six victories and he was permanent poison for Marc Marquez who only brought him into line during the last Grand Prix of the year in the quest for the title. The current exercise is less glorious: a success and a podium halfway through and an abysmal delay of 77 points over the same Marquez who continues to be at the forefront. The Ducati official takes stock of the situation as he begins his summer vacation.
A saving truce for the bodies and minds of the pilots. And the opportunity to set new goals to stay motivated, so as not to let yourself be overwhelmed by hazards and adversity. Because between a teammate Lorenzo awake and strong from two successes, from a Ducati generally more efficient but which must resolve its adaptation problem with the new Michelin tire, plus a bit of bad luck and a few mistakes, you have to be mentally strong to not bitterly regret a dynamic broken.
In comments relayed by Tutomotoriweb, he explains : " I regret a significant gap in the championship with Marc Marquez. But at the moment, what concerns me most is the delay we are experiencing compared to our opponents in the races. I no longer think about Marc Marquez. Marc has done things very well in many Grands Prix so it is normal that he has a big advantage ».
We missed those fights with the factory riders. Here's @ 19Bautista fighting with @AndreaDovizioso at the @MotoGP #GermanGP pic.twitter.com/qAf6dI4roz
— Aspar Team MotoGP (@AsparTeam) July 18, 2018
And yet… “ Our overall speed is very similar to Marc's. There are many points of difference between us, but I don't think about it. We can't think of winning the championship. On the other hand, we must focus on how to progress and find drivers like Rossi and Vinales. In Germany, it was not possible for us to work properly. And yet, we showed that our bike was better than the previous one. From Brno you can be very competitive ».
MotoGP championship ranking after nine Grands Prix:
| 1 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 165 | |
| 2 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 119 | -46 |
| 3 | Maverick VINALES | Yamaha | 109 | -56 |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 88 | -77 |
| 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 88 | -77 |
| 6 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 85 | -80 |
| 7 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 84 | -81 |
| 8 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 79 | -86 |
| 9 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 75 | -90 |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 57 | -108 |
| 11 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 53 | -112 |
| 12 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 49 | -116 |
| 13 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 44 | -121 |
| 14 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 32 | -133 |
| 15 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 30 | -135 |
| 16 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 22 | -143 |
| 17 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 19 | -146 |
| 18 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 16 | -149 |
| 19 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 13 | -152 |
| 20 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 12 | -153 |
| 21 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 10 | -155 |
| 22 | Mika Kallio | KTM | 6 | -159 |
| 23 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 4 | -161 |
