The Ducati rider gave a long, very interesting interview to the Spanish site AS.com, of which here is the gist.
Andrea Dovizioso first looked back on what he considers to be the greatest victories of his career: “Several victories have special meaning for me. That of Malaysia (2016), the first with Ducati, was of fundamental importance. That of Mugello (2017) is also very important because it was a victory of strength, in the dry, and by really being the fastest, in addition to Mugello. Then there is that of Barcelona (2017) which was a mental, strategic victory, during a race where I understood what had to be done. These are different situations but all important. »
Obviously, after the mention of his prize list, there was talk of the departure of Jorge Lorenzo for Honda. Dovizioso is neither happy nor unhappy, but admitted that the Mallorcan's victories had destabilized him: “When there is a champion in the box like Jorge, or as can be the case with Valentino, Marquez or Maverick, there are always pros and cons. On the positive side, there is a driver who has won, who knows what to do to go fast. When you look at the data you realize that he has already won and that he knows how to win. It helps you a lot to understand things. You have in your hands information regarding something that only he knows how to do. It's not a question of copying it, because that would be a mistake, but of taking into account certain things which can be very useful to you on the track if you manage to use them correctly. You always have to study the champions. That's the positive side. On the negative side, there are a whole bunch of things that I am not capable of doing, not because he is stronger but because we have different characteristics. There are some things he does better and some worse, and this can sometimes put you in a crisis because you are not able to do things he does. It's tough mentally, because it's an advantage if you beat him, but if he beats you, it creates tension. It's a normal thing that happens to everyone. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. This year he put me in this situation, but it's completely normal. It would be stupid to say otherwise. It happens to all of us. This is reality and you have to be courageous and know how to handle the situation. If you have Jorge as a teammate, you have to take control. »
Regarding Lorenzo's ability to win with the Honda and to coexist in the box with Marc Márquez, "Dovi" has his opinion: “Everyone is wondering if he will be competitive and no one can know at this time. Not even us pilots. We have an idea, but anything can happen. There are also pros and cons to him going to HRC. He will be riding a competitive bike, but he will be in Marquez's box, which for me is not advantageous. But everything is relative, if Jorge manages to be strong, it will be an advantage to have Marquez as a teammate. »
After discussing his teammate's future, the Italian rider returned to the renewal of his contract with Ducati and explained the reasons: “I had been at Ducati for five and a half years when I had to make the decision, and if you look at where I was at the start and where I was at that time... There was a such a great evolution that it was important to give it continuity. We also improved compared to last year, being fast on circuits where we were not, with exceptional work done together with Ducati. It's something fundamental in order to be able to fight for a championship, especially when you have to fight against a phenomenon like Marc. »
Finally, he did not wish to enter into the controversy of knowing who between Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez is the best driver: “I already answered this question, but my answer was misinterpreted... I didn't race against Rossi in the years when he won everything so I can't say that Marquez is the strongest of them all. It is also a mistake to make comparisons between different eras. I didn't see Rossi on the track when he kept winning so I can't know if this Rossi is stronger than the Marquez of today. Of course, the numbers speak, and those of Marc, no one has achieved them, but it depends on many factors. Marc is incredibly strong, and very complete, the most complete at the moment. »
