Andrea Dovizioso today produced a superb performance at the Sepang International Circuit to take victory in the Shell Malaysia Grand Prix, the Ducati Team rider crossing the finish-line ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo at the end of 29 rain-soaked laps. Powering away from pole, Dovizioso was third at the end of lap 1 behind Rossi and Andrea Iannone, who then put on a terrific scrap for first . On lap 12 Dovi passed Iannone and set off after Rossi, whom he passed on lap 15, and from then on he pulled out a small lead over the Yamaha rider to take the flag with a margin of more than three seconds. The Italian had not won a race in MotoGP since the British Grand Prix at Donington in 2009 and thanks to this result he moves up into fifth place in the table with 162 points.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“It was very important for me to win a race this year: I’ve been trying for so long and I’ve come close on several occasions, so satisfaction for today’s result is truly immense. I really powered to the win, because in the first half of the race I could not push too hard, but I didn’t give up, I didn’t make any mistakes and at the right time I passed both Iannone and Rossi and set my own pace. I am very happy about the improvements we have made this year, both in the bike and with my team, but also on a personal level. I am working hard also for next year and this win, which has come at the end of the season, is just reward for all the efforts.”

Andrea Dovizioso won a fantastic pole position at Sepang today, after a Q2 session held on wet asphalt. The Ducati Team Italian rider has set a good lap time of 2’11″511 on the first flying lap of the session, using on the back “rain” soft tyre. Back in the pit Dovizioso has decided to mount a “rain” hard tyre and fell back on the track with great determination, managing to further improve his time last lap in 2’11″485. Today is the fifth pole position in his career for Dovizioso, the second this year after Assen, and the thirty-sixth for Ducati in MotoGP.
Dovi had managed this morning, in the FP3 session played on a dry track, to rank in the top ten and then to secure direct access to Q2 in the afternoon, closing the session in eighth position in 2’00″723.
The Ducati Team Italian rider then took to the track for the decisive qualifying session after playing in the early afternoon with wet track 30 minutes FP4, closed in fifth position.
 
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team # 04) – 2’11″485 (1)
“It was a very strange qualifying, because I think I was the only one who mounted the soft rear tyre at the first exit, and I was not sure I made the right choice. Instead our strategy worked because we were able to immediately set the fastest time on the first lap, without forcing too much. Then I stopped to try the hard tyre, and I didn’t think I could improve. Instead I succeeded and I’m very happy also because I believe that with one more lap I could have gone even faster.”

Andrea Dovizioso used the same set of tyres all the way through the first session, the Italian setting a good time (2’02.561) on his last lap. Unfortunately the wet track surface in the afternoon session did not allow the Italian rider to improve his morning time and so Dovizioso ended the first day in fifteenth place.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2’02.561 (15th)
“It was a bit of a strange day and as expected the new track surface had an effect on today’s two sessions. This morning the track conditions weren’t good, but above all there were some wet patches that prevented us from doing the normal lines, so we didn’t focus on getting into the top 10 and didn’t fit a new tyre like nearly all the other riders. Even though conditions weren’t particularly great in the afternoon, we lapped as much as possible both with wet-weather and intermediate tyres, so as to be ready for tomorrow and Sunday in case it rains, seeing as here in Malaysia it’s always possible. My sensations are quite positive, but let’s wait for tomorrow to see if the track is dry and conditions improve as we put in more and more laps.”

Andrea Dovizioso has arrived in Malaysia for the third event in the challenging series of three end-of-season overseas rounds, which will see the MotoGP teams notch up about 35,000 km of flight time in less than one month.
The penultimate round of the 2016 season takes place at the Sepang International Circuit, a track that most of the riders like, and which can boast a series of characteristics that make it ideal for modern-day MotoGP bikes: long straights, a wide track surface and numerous overtaking points. All the teams came to Malaysia for the IRTA test in February, but as well as the usual hot sticky weather in the tropical country over the weekend riders will also have to deal with other unknown factors such as the recent resurfacing of the whole track, with several modifications to the run-off areas and the replacement of four new kerbs.
In MotoGP Andrea Dovizioso has stepped onto the podium in Malaysia twice, the last time in 2010, in his seven races there. Last year “Dovi” retired following a crash on lap 11 after qualifying in seventh for the race.
With two rounds remaining until the end of the championship, Dovizioso lies seventh in the standings with 137 points.
The Sepang weekend schedule gets underway on Friday morning with the first session of free practice at 9.55 am (03.55 CET) while the 20-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 3 pm local time (08.00 CET).

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 7th (137 points)
“We come to Malaysia very satisfied with fourth place at Phillip Island. Sepang is one of my favourite tracks and this year, with the new asphalt and the banking modified in several corners it will surely be more interesting and fascinating. As always we will have to understand how the bike and above all the tyres will behave with all these changes, but I’ve always gone well at Sepang and so I can’t wait to get out on track.”

Andrea Dovizioso scored a strong fourth place finish in the Michelin Australian Grand Prix, held today in dry conditions at a wind-swept Phillip Island circuit. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider, who started from row 3, crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in seventh place and made his way up to fourth by lap 7. Dovizioso was then involved in a great scrap with Aleix Espargarò, who crashed on lap 23, and Maverick Viñales, but he was unable to pass the young Spanish rider and had to settle for a fourth place finish in this sixteenth round of the championship.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 4th
“I am satisfied with my race today, even though when you are fighting for the podium with just a few laps remaining, it is disappointing not to be able to reach it. However, if I think that last year here I did one of my worst races, managing to finish the race at Phillip Island with a fourth place is something really positive for me. I am pleased with the way we worked throughout the weekend, but especially with the way we are constantly improving the bike. I managed my race well, making the best use of the strong points of the Desmosedici GP in the parts of the circuit which were most favourable to us, and I was able to stay among the battle for the podium right until the end. Over the last one and a half laps, I decided to back down because I was taking too many risks in catching Viñales, but a fourth place at this circuit is a really good result for me.”

Unpredictable weather once again conditioned the free practice and qualifying sessions at the Phillip Island circuit today. With an air temperature of around 12°, it was the sporadic rain, together with gusts of cold wind and the occasional heavy downpour that caused problems for the MotoGP riders and teams taking part in the second day of action at the Australian GP.
This morning’s FP3 session, which was held over 60 minutes to give the riders a chance to make up for time lost yesterday when FP2 was red-flagged, saw Andrea Dovizioso take fifth place with a time of 1’34.721, and going through directly into the afternoon’s Q2 session.
After FP4, which was interrupted for over half-an-hour due to a heavy downpour over the Australian circuit and which finished with Dovizioso eighth and went out on a still damp track for the fifteen-minute qualifying session, counting for the first four rows of the grid.
After setting his fastest time on front and rear intermediates, the Ducati man stopped in the pits to switch to a rear slick, as the track in the meantime had dried out almost completely. But a problem due probably to the low outside temperature forced him to go into the pits and finish the session in in ninth position.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’33.90 (9th)
“I’m disappointed about my qualifying session because over the last two days we have been working really well: unfortunately when we put on the rear slick we had a problem, caused, I think, by the low outside temperature and so, without the right feeling to try and push hard, I came into the pits. Pity, because today we were always amongst the top five and with the intermediate tyre on my first run in Q2 I was third. We made the tyre change at the right time and for sure we could have fought for the first two rows, which was our aim. Starting from the third row certainly won’t make things easy tomorrow, but I believe we have the potential to run a good race in any case.”

Coming off the back of a superb second place at Motegi, Andrea Dovizioso is on the way to Phillip Island circuit in Australia, the venue for round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship, and the second leg in this challenging series of three end-of-season overseas races on two different continents.
Andrea Dovizioso has stepped onto the Phillip Island podium three times in the different categories, including one win in 125 cc in 2004 and a third place in MotoGP in 2011. Last year the Italian rider had a difficult race, which he finished in thirteenth place.
With three rounds remaining until the end of the 2016 championship, Dovizioso is currently sixth overall with 124 points.
The weekend schedule at Phillip Island kicks off on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 10.55am local time (01.55 CET), while the 27-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 4pm (07.00 CET).

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 6th (124 points)
“Last year at Phillip Island I probably had my worst race in the entire championship! Even though it’s not one of my favourite tracks because of its characteristics, I have to say that it’s a marvellous circuit and this year, after the good result at Motegi, I will have a lot more confidence when I go out on track and will be even more determined to do a good race.”

Andrea Dovizioso put in a fine performance today in the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, finishing runner-up in the fifteenth round of the 2016 world championship. The Ducati Team rider, who started from the second row, powered away well at the stat but lost a few positions at the first corner and crossed the line at the end of lap 1 in fifth place. Andrea then passed Aleix Espargarò on lap 6 and began to chip away at Lorenzo, who crashed on lap 20. At that point Dovizioso was able to control the recovery by Viñales and he finished his race with a well-deserved second place.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd
“Today’s race was really very difficult. I started quite well but was boxed in by Valentino at the first corner and lost several positions and above all contact with the leading trio. I remained calm however and began to get closer to Lorenzo lap after lap: I didn’t want to take too many risks, but I had almost caught him when he made a small error and crashed out. I am very pleased with the feeling I had with the bike and with how I managed the situation: I couldn’t take too many risks because it was very easy to crash, but I was able to be constant throughout the race and with a good pace, and get an important result for both me and Ducati. This weekend we worked well, and confirmed that we have a good base on which to continue to work to improve several aspects of the bike.”