There are habits that are not good to adopt. That of Dovizioso, which consists of leaving Miller the position of best Ducati rider at the end of qualifying, is of this ilk. Of course, DesmoDovi then manages to get back into the race, but it's not the kind of performance we expect from a team leader. Followed by his teammate Petrucci, the man who is playing for Marc Márquez's place as vice-world champion for the third consecutive season explains…
After an encouraging but dry Friday, Andrea Dovizioso crossed the Saturday storm by positioning himself seventh on the starting grid of the Japanese Grand Prix… Which should take place in conditions at least as mild as on the first day of the meeting: “ My day was pretty good. I didn't have a very good lap in qualifying because I was a little too slow in the wet corners and lost time ", commented the official Ducati during his qualifying session at Japan. With a gap of 0,647 seconds on the leader Marc Márquez, he finished in 7th place.
« All in all, the gap is not big, I'm quite happy. I think this is confirmation that I have good feelings with the bike. I believe I have a chance to fight for the podium or the victory. I don't know, because we can't know. We only worked Friday morning » added DesmoDovi.
« It's a strange weekend so far, it's hard to process. Only the first free practices were normal, and our pace was good. I don't think anyone really knows what they can do in the race. I wasn't riding behind the other riders, so I don't know any details. But I think we can be competitive “, declared the Italian.
Tire selection will once again play a major role ahead of the Motegi Grand Prix: “ yesterday it was cold and today we only used the software “, said Dovi after his qualification on Saturday. “ The choice of tires is therefore a bit difficult for everyone, because the soft is much softer than last year. So we don't know if we can run with it. We have to see what temperatures we will have on Sunday. It seems to be a little warmer. The warm-up will be very important. »
He finishes : " the Michelin tire is a little softer on certain tracks this season and you can be more consistent. Last year you had to manage tire wear better, but generally not this season. But tires are the same for everyonee. »
Qualification 2 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Qualification 1 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
