MotoGP, Dovizioso: I'm 2nd and I did not even risk

Slow and steady takes you far, assuming that going slowly means finishing less than 3 seconds behind Marquez. The truth is that Dovizioso proved once again to be a perfect strategist to get the most from his Ducati at Motegi.

“I am very happy, both about this weekend and the race - Andrea says - It was not an easy start. Valentino did not start well and I found him in front of me, so I lost a bit of time.”

So, the rider from Forlì gathered his thoughts and made his moves.

“I was fast, but without attacking - he explains - On this track the characteristics of the Michelin tyres came out. On the front, there was not much grip and it was easy to lock up the front wheel while braking. I did not do anything rash and I was able to manage the situation well, riding with precision. I kept back a bit of margin the whole time, although not much.”

Then Lorenzo and Rossi’s crashes helped.

“Valentino was faster than me, but I had good cards to play against Jorge - he says - I could see that he was not riding as smoothly as usual. I thought maybe he had some physical problem and probably not much grip either.”

Your second place is not the only positive note of this Sunday.

“Races like these provide important information that is very useful for the future - he analyses - Today I received confirmation of our strong points and our limits, the ones we need to work on for next year. The Ducati’s acceleration helped me today, but we are still not fast enough in the corners. I noticed that following Lorenzo. When you release the brakes, the Desmosedici is unable to stay on a tight line and it gets even worse when there is poor grip.”

Dovi also complimented Marquez.

"At the beginning of the season, the Honda was not the best bike. Marc succeeded in managing the championship to perfection and I think that for him this title is more important than the first two."