Dovizioso delighted with first front row

Andrea Dovizioso took his first front row qualification position in the premier class on Saturday, as he placed third on the grid for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The Repsol Honda rider, who with a best time of 1’21.617 was 0.639s off pole holder Jorge Lorenzo, was understandably extremely pleased with the outcome as he seeks a first win of the campaign to accompany his four podiums so far this year.

“I’m very happy about this session because this is my first front row of the season and qualifying was an area that we had to improve. We were fast from the beginning today and I have to thank the team because they’ve done a good job this weekend,” stated Dovizioso.

“Yesterday and also today I have been losing some time in T4, but for the final qualifying lap I pushed at 100% and did my best final sector time - which gave me my fastest lap time and a place on the front row.”

Dovizioso is confident he can fight for the top positions in Sunday’s race given his pace in qualifying.

He continued: “I have a good race pace but we still need to improve a little because Stoner and Lorenzo are very fast. There is still a gap but we are not too far away. I think the race pace tomorrow will be between the high 1’21”s and 1’22” dead, and I’m confident I can fight with the others. For the tyre choice we will probably go with the soft option rear. Our machine balance is good and we have a positive feeling on this track so I’m confident for tomorrow.”