Andrea Dovizioso scored an important podium at the Phillip Island circuit today thanks to a third place finish in the Australian Grand Prix at the end of an exciting and hard-fought race. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider, who got a great start from row 3, led from the fifth to the seventh lap and after being passed by eventual race winner Viñales, was involved in an exciting scrap with Rossi, Iannone and Bautista. In the last few laps Andrea remained glued to the rider from Vasto’s rear wheel but he was unable to pass him and so he finished his race in a well-deserved third place. Thanks to today’s result Dovizioso has increased his lead over Rossi to 15 points in the Riders’ standings.
The next round is the Shell Malaysia Grand Prix, scheduled for the Sepang International Circuit on 2-4 November.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 3rd
“I’m really satisfied with the way the race went today. Even though we knew we had good speed, managing to get a podium here is another thing. I’m pleased I got myself immediately into an ideal position in the race, because if you start from the third row here at Phillip Island anything can happen, as we saw. Instead with a bit of luck I immediately managed to make up some positions and after a few laps I was first: I never expected that! Then I had a chance to manage the tyres and reach the end of the race in a good state, even though we were all in trouble a bit. I’m very pleased with the work we’ve done here: Phillip Island was a fundamental test to understand our level of competitiveness and now we know we have made a good step forward over last year.”