MotoGP Malaysia Sepang J3 Conference Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati/3): Rossi, the stupid corner, etc. (Entirety)

The conference held after the Malaysian Grand Prix brought together Maverick Viñales, Marc Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso.

As usual, we report here the raw words of Andrea Dovizioso, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.

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Andrea, as Marc said, you're off to a great start. But the race was not easy since you fought with Jack Miller, then you had to resist Valentino Rossi…

Andrea Dovizioso : “yes, this departure helped me a lot. We knew we had to do this to try and fight for the podium. I was in a good situation, in a good position, but Jack was a little too aggressive at the start, as always when he tries to be in the lead. I lost two positions but anyway I didn't have the speed to stay with Marc. I was missing something. I tried and made a few mistakes because I was really at the limit. So I'm very happy with our result because we've never had a good race like that in the dry in Malaysia. So it's good that we did it. And the gap is not very big. But I had a chance to get a better position and we couldn't because we didn't have enough speed. So I'm not satisfied with that but in the end it was very important for us to get back on the podium, especially after yesterday's poor qualifying. »

What explains your very good start compared to Australia?

“The difference is simply the length of the straight line. We have a very good start and our bike works very well in this situation. My motorbike helped me a lot (smile). »

We would like to have your opinion about the new Moto2 champion, Álex Márquez…

“I think he had an incredible season. If I remember correctly, he switched in the middle of the season and he started to be really consistent and competitive. He made the difference in many races so I think he gradually learned how to ride his bike. He really had a really incredible season and was more consistent than everyone else, so I'm happy for him. »

It was much warmer today than yesterday. How did this affect your motorcycle?

“Yes, it was very difficult, but like every time in the race, the tire deteriorated much more than during testing. So you have to adapt to the new conditions and we were quite slow compared to testing. I couldn't drive the same way and that's also why I couldn't stay with Marc. I thought I could be a little faster but that's normal and happens most of the time, especially when the heat is like that. »

You had an intense battle with Valentino. Were you more or less in control of everything, or was it tight?

“When you never follow a driver, you really don't know what he's doing at every turn. He always stayed behind me so I didn't really know. I know his style and I know his bike but I didn't know every detail, so it was a little difficult. But I wanted to stay in front, because with the heat it's even worse here if you follow a driver. So I stayed in front and tried to manage. We are very slow in the middle of the corner with our bike but we can accelerate better, so for the rider behind me it is difficult, especially with a Yamaha because you can be fast in the middle of the corner but there is no not really a corner fast enough here to make a big difference at the exit. And I was better at accelerating, so I slowed it down a little in the middle of the corner because the tire wasn't giving me the option to be faster. I couldn't skate in the middle of the corner like I was doing during testing. So I slowed down and tried to cut each corner, with good times. It wasn't too bad. I didn't have everything completely under control, but I was also able to control it because when he overtook me, I saw that he was really at the limit. So it was confirmation that he didn't have many cards to play against me. But Valentino never gives up, until the end! Normally, if he's there, he's up to something, but he's not crazy when overtaking: he's aggressive but normally he doesn't do stupid things. The fight was therefore good and I was able to respond to him in a clean and correct manner. It was good for me and we didn't waste any time as Rins was coming back. This is also why Valentino hasn't done crazy things. »

Can you tell us about the different trajectories in the last corner?

“In the race, I was more in front so I didn't see many of the other drivers' trajectories. I only saw Marc who normally goes a little far and comes back. But when they resurfaced the track, they completely changed the bank of the turn. At the opposite. That's pretty stupid! It is very difficult to pass through this bend. You can have the same trajectory but you can use others, because inside it is higher but there is less grip. So if you're taking a really tight turn, you don't have the grip when you're leaning as hard as you can. If you go wide before coming back, it's sometimes faster but it's really difficult. I think you can have different lines with the same speed and different bikes affect that. This is currently a very strange turn. »

What do you think of the Petronas SRT team's lack of performance today?

“We don't know and we can't know: maybe they had some problems. But it happens sometimes in MotoGP because you encounter a completely different situation in the race and you have to work intelligently during practice. You have to try to be ready because normally there is less grip during the race. I think the settings of the bike and a lot of the electronics have an effect, so you can be very fast during testing and not as much during the race, especially on this track where the grip is very low. From the start, you have less grip than every practice session. You expect something and it's not like that: then you become aggressive and everything becomes worse. It can happen. I don't know if this is their situation but in my experience, this has happened to me many times and it's difficult. You need to understand how Michelin tires work and really tailor it to your bike and your style. »

Ranking MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

Credit for rankings and cover photo: MotoGP.com