This Japanese Grand Prix seemed sewn with white thread until three laps from the finish. A Marc Márquez dominating his subject, a Fabio Quartararo doing his best to annoy him, and a free-for-all for the last step of the podium. Then there was the Ducati red thread. Andrea Dovizioso started riding a little over half a second faster than everyone else. Just one lap away, he won and here's why...
Andrea Dovizioso stuck for half a second fabio quartararo in the last lap and there would have been another, nothing says that he would not have settled the account of the Petronas Yamaha. Better, in this case, he would have seen Marc Márquez run out of gas, since the winner was unable to complete his lap of honor! A turnaround that didn't happen, but it came close. The fact remains that DesmoDovi has taken its 100e podium career and consolidated his place of second in the general classification.
Starting seventh, the official Ducati had a solid race while his teammate Petrucit collapsed to ninth place while Jack Miller cracked in the last part of the competition to be satisfied with tenth position: “ I’m a little disappointed, especially when we see the end of this race,” recognized the 33-year-old Forli native. " We need to see why our bike improves towards the end and why I can't push at the start »
On his situation in the championship, he adds: “ I still have a good lead over Rins and Viñales. The next races probably won't be so good for us, but we will still have to earn points. In the end, it was important to stay here in front of them. Let's see what will happen at Phillip Island and what the weather will be like there. »
« Everyone was at the limit at the end. I was the fastest because I took a lot of risks. My front wheel has often blocked. At turn 11 I was able to gain a lot of ground again and again. At the beginning, I was calm in the race, I always drive gently. In the end, when the bike was running better, I was faster Says Dovizioso at the end of his journey.
With his 100th podium, Dovi marked a turning point in his career. Looking back, he said, “ the wins over the last three years have been crazy. The victory in Austria was very good in 2019. Mugello was not a fight, but an important moment, because there were a lot of emotions on the podium. But Japan 2017, when I see that race, I think it was crazy. There was so much water on the trail. I'll probably remember this when I'm old and watch this race »
He finishes : " I never saw Maverick in the race, but I saw and heard that he was faster in the slow corners. I tried to block it. Turns 6 and 7 I couldn't have stopped him, those were the fast corners. But the times were still good. When I saw that Fabio was having problems, I took a risk and almost caught him. » But it was a little short...
MotoGP Japan Motegi J3: ranking
