Andrea Dovizioso got off to a great start in the Malaysian GP, the penultimate round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship held this weekend at the Sepang circuit. The Italian rider set the quickest time in both the dry morning session and the afternoon run, which was held in the rain.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2’00.671 (1st)
“Today was a very positive day because we were quickest both this morning in the dry and in the afternoon in the wet, and it was very important to start in this way at Sepang. We know that there’s still a lot of work to do, especially in the dry, and we hope to have some sessions with the track in a good condition tomorrow, so that we can prepare the best settings for the race. In any case it was good that we confirmed out pace in the wet and today went even better than last year, so I’m very satisfied: my Desmosedici goes really well in the wet, we’ve got excellent grip and it was quite easy for me to go quick.”

Andrea Dovizioso has arrived in Malaysia for the third and final leg of the challenging series of three overseas end-of-season races, which will see the MotoGP teams notch up around 35,000 kilometres of flight distance in less than one month.
The Ducati Team has won four times at Sepang thanks to Loris Capirossi, Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso, who scored his first win for Ducati and second in MotoGP here exactly twelve months ago. After the 2016 race in Malaysia, the last twelve months have been a whirlwind of wins and podiums for the Italian driver from Forlimpopoli, which have led him to fight for the title, right until the last round held at Phillip Island a few days ago. In the Australian GP Dovizioso only scored a thirteenth place, but even after this sudden stop, Andrea will try to keep the battle open with two rounds remaining, despite a gap of 33 points to leader Marquez.
With two rounds still to go before the end of the championship, Dovizioso is in second place in the overall standings with 236 points.
The Sepang weekend programme gets underway on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 9.55 am (03.55 CET), while the 20-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 15.00 (08.00 CET).

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd (236 points)
“Unfortunately I lost a lot of points at Phillip Island and now my shot at the title appears to be compromised. But I always think positively and we are here in Malaysia at a very challenging circuit, together with the heat, where I won last year and where anything can happen. If Marquez keeps on being so fast in the last two races, it’s going to be a tough task, but at this point we must only try and bring home the best possible result and we are going all out to do that.”

Andrea Dovizioso will start from the fourth row of the grid in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which takes place tomorrow at 07.00 CET (16.00 local time) at the Phillip Island circuit. After finishing eighth in FP3 in the morning and then crashing without harm in the next free practice session, the Italian took part in Q2, which was held on a dry track, and finished eleventh with a time of 1’29.496.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’29.496 (11th)
“The crash in FP4 conditioned my qualifying session a bit. We could surely have gone quicker, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to ride as well as yesterday and so we start down the grid. A real pity, but that’s the way it went and now we have only to think about tomorrow to try and work out where we can improve, because in any case my pace with the medium tyre is not bad. We’re not going to give in and we’ll see what we can do in the race.”

Just a few days after an exciting Grand Prix of Japan, in which victory arrived after a battle with Marc Marquez right down to the last corner, Andrea Dovizioso is on his way to Australia at the Phillip Island circuit, the venue for round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship and the second of the three challenging end-of-season fly-away races.
Following on from that fantastic win at Twin Ring Motegi, his fifth of the season, Andrea Dovizioso is now gearing up for another crucial race at the Island, with just three rounds to go in the championship battle.
Dovizioso has stepped onto the Phillip Island podium a total of three times in different categories, scoring a win in 125 in 2004 and a third place in MotoGP in 2011, while last year he was involved in a terrific scrap with Viñales, finishing in a good fourth place.
With three rounds remaining in the championship, Dovizioso is currently second overall with 233 points, 11 down on Marquez.
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) – 2nd (233 points)
“For sure Phillip Island is one of Marquez’s favourite tracks, and the situation will probably be a bit more difficult for us, but last year we did a good race and so we must try and work in the best possible way throughout the weekend. There are now just three rounds left until the end and anything can happen: we must try and always be fast at every circuit and in every condition. On paper we are not favourites for the win in Australia but we’ll be fighting as hard as ever.”

Andrea Dovizioso powered to his fifth win of the year today at Motegi at the end of an exciting race and a terrific scrap right down to the final corner with Marc Marquez. The Ducati Team’s Italian rider has now reduced the gap in the overall standings to 11 points to the Spanish champion, with three rounds left in the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
Dovizioso, who started from row 3, moved up to third in the early laps behind Petrucci, who led until lap 12, and Marquez. Once he had passed the Pramac Racing Team rider, who eventually finished an excellent third at the flag, Andrea began to chase down Marquez up at the front. Dovizioso then caught and passed him on lap 21, but three laps later Marquez was back in the lead. The Ducati man didn’t lose touch with his title rival however, attacking four corners before the finish to hold onto his first place until the chequered flag.
MotoGP returns to the track next weekend at the Phillip Island circuit, the venue for the Australian Grand Prix.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“It was a difficult race because at the start there wasn’t much grip and I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike but I never gave up, not even when I was losing ground, and this made all the difference. Marc was really quick and he tried right until the end, but there were some places where I could attack and he also made a small mistake on the last lap which gave me a chance to catch him again and try and pass him at Turn 11. I knew that he was going to attack me in the final two corners but I was prepared for this, I closed the door on him and he had to go a bit wide to pass me. It was absolutely vital to win here and I’m really so pleased for the whole team and for the championship.”