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In two weeks Dovizioso has won the same number of races as he did in his first seasons in MotoGP, Andrea smiles when this is pointed out to him: “I understood too late what I needed to do, but luckily I'm not yet too old”.
Dovi, after years of sweat and tears with the Ducati, achieved something great today, scoring a second consecutive win for the Desmosedici, which hadn't been done since Stoner's day, “bar talk has it that only Casey could win with this bike, but we've shown that's not true” he comments satisfied.
Does this performance also come down to a personal change?
“From the second half of last season, I've understood a lot about life and these things have helped me adopt a different approach and the results have come. I feel more happy and relaxed. In MotoGP we're always all at the limit and so the little things can make a big difference”.
Can you be more precise?
“You meet people who tell you that it's possible to live in a different way”.
It's obviously working…
“I hadn't yet fully realised what I'd managed to do at Mugello and I came here thinking I'd struggle after the test”.
But you won…
“Because we were the smartest when it came to understand the limits of the track and tyres, we didn't focus on speed but on conserving the tyres, working on the electronic mapping and set-up”.
You mean to say that you weren't fast?
“Today I experienced a new feeling, to win without pushing. Usually you use up so much energy, while this time it wasn't like that. I was behind Pedrosa and he was riding the same way, we weren't forcing in braking or in the turns and I had an advantage”.
Which was?
“I was able to make it up in acceleration and so I could avoid forcing in the braking, which allowed me to use the front tyre less. Knowing this bike well makes the difference, because it allows me to exploit its strengths and limit the weaknesses at the right time”.
So you were sure you'd win?
“To be honest, I passed Pedrosa a little early, but I thought I could lap half a second quicker, instead I realised that the rear tyre was finished. Luckily he and Marc were in the same boat, worse off in fact”.
What does this second consecutive win mean to you?
“It's confirmation of how much work we've done over these years, it's hugely satisfying”.
Last year there was the risk you'd leave Ducati…
“I was worried, but it would have been like leaving a job half done. I would have taken is a personal disappointment”.
Now you're fighting for the championship…
“I don't want to come across as a pessimist or complain right now, but the limits we had until two races ago haven't disappeared. To think about the title, you need to fight for the podium in every race and we didn't do that right from the start of the season”.
Would you be ready?
“I've always considered myself a rider who can fight for the title, but I've had some disastrous years. We'll be able to fight when we have a good base. I'm not forgetting that Marquez was 8 tenths a lap quicker in the test here at Barcelona”.
Everyone thought Lorenzo would be the Ducati man fighting for the title…
“I'm surprised I've won two races, not about having done so before Lorenzo. I knew I could go up against him”.
What do you expect now?
“With what's happening this year, it would be crazy to make predictions (he laughs). Tomorrow we won't test, we've done enough, I'll enjoy the win”.
