Having undergone intense physiotherapy on a twisted right knee ahead of the Octo British Grand Prix, after a recent crash in testing at Misano, Andrea Dovizioso had to work hard for a top six finish at Silverstone.
After a frustrating DNF at Brno last time out the Italian started from row four under the grey skies in the English countryside having also crashed in Q2 and having to visit the medical centre on Saturday for a check on his physical condition.
Once the shortened and restarted Silverstone race got underway the determined Dovizioso made a great charge through the field from 10th to catch the leading group. But ultimately he had to settle for sixth due to increasing stiffness in his right forearm, which prevented him from pushing hard in the final stages of the race.
Andrea Dovizioso: “After powering away well at the first start, I wasn’t able to repeat it the second time around and was left a little bit behind, so I lost touch with the leading group. I had to push hard to try and close the gap, but I wasn’t able to ride well. Half way through I began to have a problem with my right forearm and from that moment onwards my race turned into an ordeal. I feel bad for the team, as we could surely have got a better result, but I was just unable to push hard enough.
“I almost crashed a number of times just trying to stay in sixth place, because I was struggling to keep the bike under control. It was a pity, because judging by the pace of the guys in front of me, we could have had a chance of fighting for second place.”