Dovizioso: "Without the winglets it won’t be easy"

Since he came second last year in the Austrian GP, 'DesmoDovi' has won three Grands Prix, led the Championship and is still very much in the fight. Ever the realist, the rider from Forli says this season it could be tougher going with winglets banned - but that they remain 'amongst' the favourites for the win.

After a tougher Czech GP than anticipated after a challenging flag-to-flag, some points were lost - but the Italian is hopeful they can be regained, heading into the Red Bull Ring after a positive Brno test and the best track record at the venue there is.

Andrea Dovizioso: “If we consider our result from last year, in Austria we are for sure amongst the favourites but this year the situation is different because without the winglets it won’t be easy to find the same speed. Despite the fact that the result in Brno was not what we expected, in general I’m pleased with our performance over the weekend in the Czech Republic, even though in the end unfortunately we lost a lot of points in the championship standings. On Monday in the official test we tried the new fairing and the feeling was good, so I’m confident about this race and I believe we can be competitive right from the start of the weekend.”