MotoGP, Dovizioso: me the eighth winner? I have to believe it

After seeing a run of 7 different race winners, there is one rider who would like to continue this trend and Misano would be the ideal track. “If I were to be number eight? I have to believe it and really hope so”, says Andrea Dovizioso.

“This year every weekend comes with its own story, the tyres are a new element: there are various difficulties to manage and those who are able to do so in the race are at an advantage - he explains - Sometimes the Michelins behave better with one bike or with another and we've also had some unusual weather conditions. For these reasons we've seen many different winners”.

We need to see which way the wind is blowing at Misano.

“I come here with the intention of doing really well and expect to be fast right away - he underlines - During the tests I had really good sensations, but we can only understand the details, and whether we're quick enough, over the course of the weekend. Also because Michelin has brought different tyres”.

He is not worried about his physical condition.

“My knee shouldn't be a problem on the bike, though it's a little swollen - he assures us - While my arm was never an issue, I just tired it out and have spent time recovering over the last days”.

This was down to the Desmosedici.

“It's a physical bike and at Silverstone we saw one of its limits. It may happen again, I know which tracks might give us more problems in this regard but I'm not telling - he smiles - In MotoGP we're always on the edge, everything's on the limit and even a small thing is enough to cause a big problem. Sometimes this can be managed, sometimes no. At Silverstone there was some signs in practice and, perhaps, if I hadn't had to play catch up from the fourth row, the difficulties may have been less significant”.

Andrea Iannone, on the other hand, is more worried about his forearm. Yesterday he went to Parma to see Doctor Zasa of the Clinica Mobile, who carried out various tests.

“These revealed serious inflammation but until I'm on the bike we won't know how my arm is going to react  - comments the Italian - unfortunately I haven't been able to have a weight bearing MRI, we prefer to avoid that just before the GP because of the inflammation”.

He'll be back in Parma on Tuesday to receive a full diagnosis.

“It's important to understand how to deal with it in the future, because all of the next tracks, except Valencia, put the forearm under significant stress", he explains.

Despite this worry, Andrea is still confident.

“Although we didn't have any references with regard to our rivals during testing, I had good sensations - he confirms - I want to continue with this positive trend and fight with the best”.

Also because this will be his last Italian race with the Ducati.

“There will be many fans, this year I've noticed that there are more people supporting me and it's great. I could hear them when I was on the podium in Mugello - he recalls - Misano will be the same and I'll try to give something more, this extra motivation is always important”.