Andrea Dovizioso got the start to the season he deserved as he managed to successfully ride his Ducati Team Desmosedici GP 17 to success finishing second, collecting a podium and 20 championship points at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, where rain nearly prevented the first race of the season from even happening.
Rain disrupts the start of the race
A light shower hit the floodlit track before the race and made things so slippery it caused riders to run off at the latter stages of the sighting lap. When they made their way to the grid they immediately made their way to officials where they expressed their concerns to officials. Eventually after many delays and much deliberation, the race got underway, and Dovizioso gained a place when the race started; after starting from fifth on the grid he entered turn one of the race in first.
It took four laps for Dovizioso to make his way past his former teammate Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and then on lap six he was able to pass the 2016 MotoGP champion, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda). He continued in pursuit of surprise leader, Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who unfortunately fell off on lap seven.
Dovizioso leads in Qatar
It meant that Dovizioso was in the lead, which is where he remained until Iannone crashed out as he chased Marquez who had passed him. However, Maverick Vinales making his debut for Movistar Yamaha, was on the move and gradually worked his way up from fifth and a battle commenced between him and the Italian. Despite his efforts, Dovizioso was not able to beat Vinales however he did finish the race up in second; collecting 20 points in the process.
Dovizioso was “very pleased with the result and the job” that he and his team did over the weekend. He explained how it was “difficult for everyone because of the conditions [they] encountered”, however he found they “worked well” and that they “calmly arrived at the race with a competitive set-up”.
Tyre strategy paid off
He felt that they were “even better at choosing the rear tyre on the grid” which is where he explained they ended up “changing strategy and switching to the soft tyre”. It meant that he found that during “the final part of the race” he found himself trying to “hold back Maverick” however he came to the conclusion that he didn’t think they “could have done anything better today”.