Andrea Dovizioso will start Sunday’s Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, from the second row of the grid at the Sepang International Circuit. The race will get underway at 13.00 local time (06.00 CET), two hours earlier than scheduled, to avoid the possible risk of torrential rain.
This morning the Ducati Team rider concentrated on trying out various set-up solutions for the race, taking advantage of the dry track and convinced that the time he set yesterday was good enough to send him directly into Q2. When he went out again with the track still damp following a downpour that had delayed the start of the two qualifying sessions, Andrea was further improving his time but he came off at Turn 9 and as a result finished in fifth position with a lap of 2’13.183.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th (2’13.183)
“Today we had to adapt to the different situations that we encountered on the track, both in the morning and the afternoon, and as a result we were unable to try everything we had planned. Both Marquez and Viñales improved their pace and I think that tomorrow there will be a group of riders fighting for the leading positions. In Q2 I made a mistake and crashed on my best lap. We also had to use a front tyre that was too hard, like many other riders, and I entered Turn 9 too quickly and slid onto the grass. Pity because we could have started from the front row, but in any case it was important to be able to lap on the wet asphalt in case it rains tomorrow in the race. In any case I believe we can be competitive both in the dry and the wet.”