Although Andrea had a good race which allowed him to get on the podium in Misano, he was nonetheless joined at the top of the provisional World Championship ranking by the day's winner Marc Marquez. But it would have taken more to destabilize Dovi who remains confident and for whom, according to him, “everything remains open”.
It was already in third position that Dovizioso finished his Friday, behind Danilo Petrucci and Maverick Vinales. He finished his free practice in fifth position, therefore easily qualified for Q2. In this qualifying session, he achieved a superb second time which allowed him to start on the first row of the starting grid, between Maverick Vinales and Marc Marquez.
In the race, he completed the first lap in third place, behind his teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez. He dropped back on lap five to fourth when Danilo Petrucci overtook him, but recovered two laps later in third as Lorenzo crashed.
Dovizioso remained in contact with Danilo Petrucci and Marc Marquez for a long time, without however managing to worry them. Then the two leaders picked up the pace, improving the fastest lap in the race several times. After trying not to fall behind, Andrea ultimately preferred to secure third place, knowing that the fight between the two men in front could cause them some trouble. But Marquez won ahead of Petrucci, and Dovi was content with the third step of the podium. He thus retained the lead in the World Championship, even if he had to share this leadership with Marquez.
According to Andrea Dovizioso, “ From the first laps I realized that it would be a difficult race for me because I didn't have enough grip. I don't understand why it was like that.
“After Jorge fell, Danilo and Marc rode with a steady pace. That's why I tried to understand if I had a chance of staying with them until the end. But I wasn't better at anything than them. Therefore, I could not fight them.
“As everyone saw, it was very easy to make a mistake. In all races, many falls occurred. That's why I knew it was important to score points rather than risk a draw.
“Marc took a big risk, but he felt good. This was not the case for me. I'm not so happy with my feeling on the bike. I lost points for the championship, but in these conditions, I'm happy. Our speed in the dry on Saturday makes me happy.
“I think we have a chance to fight for the title. Of course, Marc is very strong. In the next Aragón Grand Prix, he is still very fast, but we are at the same level in the overall evaluation. We have to play our cards and fight for the title. Everything is open. I feel good in the dry. We will try to finish well. »
Grand Prix ranking:
1- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V
2- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1.192
3- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 11.706
4- Maverick Vinales – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 16.559
5- Michele Pirro – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 19.499
6- Jack Miller – EG 0,0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 24.882
7- Scott Redding – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 33.872
8- Alex Rins – Team Suzuki ECSTAR – Suzuki GSX-RR – + 34.662
9- Jonas Folger – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 54.082
10- Bradley Smith – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 57.964
11- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1’00.440
12- Alvaro Bautista – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 1’17.356
13- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 1’35.588
14- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 1’38.857
15- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 2'02.212
16- Loris Baz – Reale Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
17- Karel Abraham – Pull&Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 199 points
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 199
3 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 183
4 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 157
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 150
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 110
7 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 95
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 92
9 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 90
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 84
11 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 62
12 Scott REDDING-Ducati 54nzo
13 Jack MILLER-Honda 53
14 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 43
15 Loris BAZ-Ducati 39
16 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 33
17 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 31
18 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 28
19 Alex RINS-Suzuki 27
20 Tito RABAT-Honda 27
21 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 23
22 Michele PIRRO-Ducati 18
