Dovizioso: “A podium would have been a good reward”

A strong fifth place for Andrea Dovizioso despite arm pump induced errors during the closing stages of the race.

Neck issues saw Andrea Dovizioso struggle through the opening days of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM and qualify down in 13th. ‘Desmo Dovi’ had a perfect run off the line and rocketed up the field, ending the first lap in fifth position. By lap five he was up to fourth as he cruised past Aleix Espargaro (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Dovizioso eyeing the leading three. As Valentino Rossi’s (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) race ended in a plume of smoke, Dovizioso found himself in third and ahead of his Ducati Team teammate Andrea Iannone who was rapidly closing in. The two men in red had a brief battle but Dovizioso ran deep into San Donato and his chances of a podium were gone. Arm pump in his right arm saw Dovizioso ease his pace and focus on defending fifth in the race.

I was unable to be smooth and half-way through the race I had a problem with arm pump in my right arm and lost a lot of my strength.

Fifth was a little less than Dovizioso and the team wanted, but the Italian was pleased to see the flag for the first time since Argentina. From his three race finishes, Dovizioso has amassed a total of 34 points and is 11th in the championship. The speed is there and with his bad luck seeming to have lifted, Dovizioso is hopeful of a strong end to the season so he can showcase what both he and Ducati are capable of.

Andrea Dovizioso: “The weekend finished with a good fifth place and that’s positive, especially since I haven’t seen the chequered flag for quite a few races. Starting so far behind could have penalized me, but I was able to get off the line well and immediately reach the leading group. We had worked well on race pace and so I was quite quick, but I was unable to be smooth and half-way through the race I had a problem with arm pump in my right arm and lost a lot of my strength. This problem forced me to drop my pace, but above all it caused me to make a few errors including one at San Donato, which prevented me from remaining in the battle for the podium in the last few laps. I’m disappointed for the team because despite it being a difficult weekend, we managed to find a very good race pace. A podium would have been a good reward but unfortunately this time we couldn’t make it, so we’ll have to continue working to do better from the next round onwards.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team