MotoGP, Dovizioso: I don't need to be aggressive to win

Andrea Dovizioso arrives at Valencia as a winner. His success at Sepang was a sort of liberation for him, and he's had a few days to celebrate with his nearest and dearest, starting with his biggest fan, his daughter Sara.

“I've not yet given her the trophy as it flew here from Malaysia in the crates - he smiles - But she surprised me as she was there waiting at the airport when I got home. That was great after three weeks away”.

Now Dovi can reflect more calmly on the sensations he had.

“The best was a feeling of lightness, because, as I've already said, I felt obliged to win - he says - But there's another thing that has made me particularly happy: I didn't expect to make so many people happy. I've received so many compliments in the paddock, from my rivals, from riders, technicians and managers. That's been really satisfying".

Andrea explains why.

“I know how this world works and it's not easy to get this kind of recognition without winning for a long time - he confirms - It means that, over these difficult years, we've been able to show the work we've been doing”.

Dovizioso has always stayed the same person.

“It's true that in this environment you need to be a bit of a tough bastard to get certain results, but everyone has their own character. There are different ways of doing things - he underlines - I would never have achieved better results by being more aggressive, actually it would have been counter-productive for me. At the end of the day, the line is drawn at the end of the year, not after judging just one event”.

Some define you as an anti-personality, but your strength is that you've always been coherent. And it's paid off.

“I thought that here we were only judged on our results, but life doesn't work that way. I was generalising and I was wrong”, he comments.

Putting the past aside, now it's time to look to the future and the Valencia race.

“Last year didn't go particularly well - he recalls - but the situation is different now. In the last three races, at different tracks, we've been competitive so I expect to start from a good base. But we need to wait and see, because we're still too conditioned by tyre performance”.

His final thought regards Tuesday, when he'll find Lorenzo in the garage.

“It will be a bit strange, because he's been my rival ever since the European championship. It will be interesting to see him on our bike”, he concludes.