Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was left with no other option but to try and win the race at Valencia, 21 points behind Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) as the lights went out. The Italian pushed and was ahead of his rival after the Spaniard suffered a huge moment into Turn 1 and ended up running off track – but it wasn’t to be, and the Italian crossed over the limit to suffer a run off himself; ‘DesmoDovi’ unable to save himself from a crash.
“We wanted this title as much as Marc did, and I gave everything until the last lap,” says Dovizioso, “but I didn’t have any more cards to play.”
Missing some grip at the rear, the Italian explains he made a mistake and crashed – but is satisfied with 2017 despite just missing out on the crown. “I’m happy with the season. We’re happy, second in the Championship is a good result. Today we tried until the end, but we didn’t have the rhythm. It was difficult to win the title, but we gave everything trying to take the victory. I was over the limit trying to brake later and gain. I couldn’t brake that hard, I went wide and crashed.”
It has been a stunning season for Dovizioso despite not taking the crown, with six wins and the Championship fight going down to the wire. He could do no more but push and wait for the cards to fall. And the Borgo Panigale factory rider says it’s not just about the result: “I was faster at the start but then following Jorge helped me - we ride in a different way and I could learn a few things from him that I was missing here. We tried. The important thing is that we were also competitive here in Valencia. I think it would have been difficult even if Marquez had crashed – I don’t think we had the rhythm to win. Thank you to the team and Ducati. We have to be happy and take the positives from the season”
Now it’s time to refocus on the future already, retaining memories of an incredible 2017 and getting ready for testing - underway on Tuesday as #2018StartsNow.