After three pre-season testing sessions in Malaysia, Thailand and ten days ago in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso is now arriving in the Gulf state again for the first round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, which takes place on Sunday at the Losail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha.
Coming off the back of an extraordinary year in which he won six races and finished runner-up, Andrea Dovizioso begins his sixth successive season with the colours of the Borgo Panigale squad, becoming one of the ‘longest-lasting’ riders in the Italian manufacturer’s MotoGP history. 2018 will be Andrea’s eleventh consecutive season in the premier category, the Italian having commenced his MotoGP career exactly ten years ago, on 9th March 2008, right here in Qatar.
Unlike the other races on the calendar, the GP of Qatar will be held under floodlights, but this year the race will start two hours earlier on Sunday evening than in previous years, at 19.00 local time (17.00 CET).
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)
“I’m actually very satisfied with the feeling that I have reached with the Desmosedici GP18 during the last three test sessions: we have always been very quick and I’m happy with the work done in Ducati over the winter. At Losail our bike has always worked well and this year it seems it’s going even better, so I’m very confident for the first GP of the season. We still have to improve some aspects for the race and a lot will depend on the conditions we will find during the weekend, because in Qatar things can change rapidly, but I believe I have the right experience to manage every situation. This year there are many very quick and competitive riders and I know the strong points of our bike as well as the aspects we still have to improve, but I’m very focussed and ready to start the season in a great way.”