Andrea Dovizioso produced a great race for the Ducati Team in the British GP today at Silverstone to claim the final podium place in third. The Italian rider had a terrific scrap with his compatriot Danilo Petrucci, who finished runner-up in second.
The twelfth round of the season took place in heavy rain, which began to fall a few minutes before the start, forcing the Race Direction to begin a second starting procedure.
Dovizioso was unable to get good traction off the grid at the start and he finished the opening lap in eleventh place. The man from Forlì then began a splendid recovery through the field and, after passing Smith on lap 4, he latched onto the exhausts of Danilo Petrucci, who was very quick in the wet conditions. The two Ducati riders moved up to third and fourth, and after Marquez crashed out, they began a terrific scrap for the runner-up slot, swapping positions on numerous occasions. On lap 14 of 20 Dovizioso was forced to leave second place to Petrucci and then in the final laps had to keep Lorenzo at bay, so he concluded the British GP with his fifth podium finish of the year.
Thanks to today’s result Dovizioso is now back in fifth position in the overall standings with 120 points, ahead of Smith.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 3rd
“I am really pleased with this third place and I want to say thanks to my team, because we are working so hard to try and get back to being competitive once again. Today was not an easy day for many reasons: we started from the fourth row of the grid and I almost crashed at the start because the rear tyre suddenly lost grip and I found myself at the back of the field. Despite this I succeeded in making a good recovery, even getting up into second place. It was a really tough race, and Petrucci and I had a great battle, so I’m also happy for his excellent result. In the final stages we were taking too many risks when we were passing and repassing each other, and seeing as it was important for us to get back onto the podium, in the end I concentrated on holding onto my third place.”