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MotoGP, Dovizioso: I go home happier than expected

"I knew I'd be fast in Qatar, but not this fast. We've worked well but a lot can change come the race weekend"

MotoGP: Dovizioso: I go home happier than expected

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I go home happier than expected”, a simple phrase but one that takes on particular meaning when Dovizioso utters it. Because the Italian always has his feet firmly on the ground and isn't one to get easily excited. But everything has gone so smoothly for him during winter testing that it's difficult to nitpick.

we have the impression that Andrea hasn't yet revealed all his cards, setting the third fastest time with relative ease and not completing more than 9 convincing laps during a long run. This was enough to give him the answers he was looking for.

“Here in Qatar, after these tests, we can confirm our competitiveness, in fact we were quicker than last year. We've worked well, I was quick but, as I expected, many other riders were quicker than yesterday, both in terms of pace and the flying lap. I expect an exciting, hard-fought race”.

One in which Dovi doesn't rule out some surprises.

“We've found good grip during this test and that's usually hard to find during the race weekend, because things are different from one day to the next. So we need to wait and see because a lot can change, and this applies to everyone”.

Whatever happens, he seems ready to react.

I knew we'd be fast here, but we went even better than expected. In all conditions the times came easily, something that's not easy to achieve. I was helped by the bike of course, which has improved”.

These last days were also important in terms of making some final comparisons between frames and fairings.

through all the tests we've been able to test each new component in the right way and that's never a given. We have clear ideas about the fairing, at least at this track. At others it won't be so easy to understand whether or not to use the new aerodynamics. I'm still undecided as to the frame but it's no problem as I can be fast with both. We'll choose one and then keep the other to make future evaluations”.

Translated by Heather Watson
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