After his superb victory obtained during the opening Grand Prix in Qatar, Dovi arrived in Argentina where he obtained his best result in 2015 with a second position behind Valentino Rossi. He came close to finishing seventh last year, when he was forced to retire following a collision with another driver.
His current teammate Jorge Lorenzo reached the podium in Argentina in 2014, finishing the race in third place, while last year he crashed in the first corner and had to retire.
This is the 5th year that the Argentine GP has taken place at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit. The first ten Argentine Grands Prix were held in Buenos Aires, the last of which in 1999. Valentino Rossi, who won the 250cc race in 3, is the only current Grand Prix driver to have raced at the circuit in Buenos Aires.
Facing him this year, World Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso will have to face quality opponents: Marc Márquez won the MotoGP race in Argentina twice from pole position in 2014 and 2016. He was also on pole in Argentina in 2015 and last year, but fell while battling for the lead. Valentino Rossi is one of only two other riders to have won a MotoGP race at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit, apart from Márquez, along with Maverick Viñales, who won the GP last year starting from the 6th place on the grid.
What are Dovi's chances on the South American circuit?
Andrea Dovizioso's second place in 2015 is the only podium finish for a Ducati rider in Argentina. With his victory in Qatar this year, Andrea Dovizioso won the season-opening race for the second time in his Grand Prix career. The last time he accomplished this feat was in 2004 on his way to capturing his 125cc title.
Dovizioso became the first Ducati rider to win the opening race of the season since Casey Stoner also won in Qatar in 2009.
According to Andrea Dovizioso, who are " This circuit is rather unusual, in that the conditions change a lot between Friday, when the track surface is usually very dirty, and Sunday, when the asphalt has improved considerably.
“Last year in Termas we had a lot of difficulties, but the Desmosedici has improved a lot since then and after the victory in Qatar we are very excited, so our goal now is to get a good result also in Argentina. »
In 2014 in Argentina, Dovizioso qualified as the best Ducati rider in 5th place on the grid. He then finished 9th
Three years ago in Argentina, he qualified 6th on the grid and battled back to finish second in the race; it was his third 2nd place in the first three races of 2015 (second in Qatar then in Austin).
In 2016 in Argentina, Dovizioso qualified in 5th position and was in second position going into the final lap, only to be knocked down by his teammate in the penultimate corner.
Last year, Dovizioso missed Q2 and finished thirteenth on the grid. He was hit by Aleix Espargaro then in seventh place ten laps from the end.
Photos © Ducati
