The Ducati Team’s Italian rider, who started from row 2, was unable to get a good start when the lights went out and he crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in seventh place. Dovizioso then moved up into the leading group, battling with Marquez, Rossi and Zarco and then took over at the front on lap 18, followed closely by the Spanish rider who tried an attack at the final curve. Andrea once again was able to get through on the inside and taking advantage of the acceleration of his Desmosedici GP18, he crossed the line 0.027s ahead of his Honda rival.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“I’m really happy with this win because we have confirmed the improvements made over the winter and I was able to manage the race well, even though I made a really bad start. On the first lap I had to come off the gas, otherwise I would have crashed into Rins I think, but then I began to make up places, trying not to ruin the tyres.. Towards the end, after passing Zarco, I tried to pull out a gap on Marquez and Rossi but I didn’t have any more grip and was unable to increase my lead. At the last curve I had to be very careful because I knew that Marquez would try and pass me, and that’s how it went. He closed the door on me even more than in Austria and Japan, but I passed him on the inside of the kerb and then took advantage of the power of my Desmosedici to stay ahead. Once again it was a great satisfaction!”

After three pre-season testing sessions in Malaysia, Thailand and ten days ago in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso is now arriving in the Gulf state again for the first round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship, which takes place on Sunday at the Losail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha.
Coming off the back of an extraordinary year in which he won six races and finished runner-up, Andrea Dovizioso begins his sixth successive season with the colours of the Borgo Panigale squad, becoming one of the ‘longest-lasting’ riders in the Italian manufacturer’s MotoGP history. 2018 will be Andrea’s eleventh consecutive season in the premier category, the Italian having commenced his MotoGP career exactly ten years ago, on 9th March 2008, right here in Qatar.
Unlike the other races on the calendar, the GP of Qatar will be held under floodlights, but this year the race will start two hours earlier on Sunday evening than in previous years, at 19.00 local time (17.00 CET).

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)
“I’m actually very satisfied with the feeling that I have reached with the Desmosedici GP18 during the last three test sessions: we have always been very quick and I’m happy with the work done in Ducati over the winter. At Losail our bike has always worked well and this year it seems it’s going even better, so I’m very confident for the first GP of the season. We still have to improve some aspects for the race and a lot will depend on the conditions we will find during the weekend, because in Qatar things can change rapidly, but I believe I have the right experience to manage every situation. This year there are many very quick and competitive riders and I know the strong points of our bike as well as the aspects we still have to improve, but I’m very focussed and ready to start the season in a great way.”

Three days of testing at the Losail circuit in Qatar, the venue for the opening round of the 2018 World Championship on 18th March, drew to a close this evening. In the last half hour all the riders went out for a short session on an artificially wet track to simulate rain conditions under floodlights.
Andrea Dovizioso finished the final day, and also the combined standings, in third place with 50 laps to his name and a time of 1’54.331, making use of the last half hour on a dry track to conclude a 10-lap stint on used tyres.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04): 3rd – 1’54.331 (50 laps today)
“I’m very happy with the work we did these three days, because we were able to try everything we had planned and also to prepare well for the race, even though here in Qatar the conditions of the circuit change easily and in a couple of weeks they could be different to what we have encountered in these three days. During the test the track had a lot of grip, something that is usually difficult to find here at Losail, and in the various simulations we were fast and consistent, and so I’m very satisfied with our performance.”

At the end of the second day of official MotoGP testing at the Losail circuit in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso was second quickest in the timesheets with a time of 1’54.627.
A few drops of rain, which fell at the track on the outskirts of Doha in the early afternoon, disturbed the first part of the session, but after that the MotoGP riders were able to continue their testing without any problems in preparation for the opening round of the season on 18th March at this same circuit.
Tomorrow, the final day of testing will finish at 20.00 local time, one hour earlier than the two previous days, to give the organizers the possibility to soak the track with water and allow the riders to lap in these conditions under floodlights from 20.30 to 21.00. They will then be able to express their opinion to the members of the Race Direction on the possibility of racing the Grand Prix of Qatar safely even in wet conditions.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 1’54.627 (41 laps)
“Even though the uncertain weather conditions didn’t allow us to make use of all the time available, in the end we managed to test everything we had scheduled. I’m very satisfied with the feeling with the bike: on this track the Desmosedici GP has always worked really well, but this year it’s going even better. My best time I set in a mini long-run of 12 laps which I did this evening, and I have to admit that the times came quite easily. Here in Qatar however every day we can find different conditions and so we must try to be quick tomorrow as well and conclude our work schedule.”

The first day of testing at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar came to an end at 9 pm this evening (19.00 CET). The MotoGP riders took to the track at 1 pm for a single session of eight hours, which finished under the floodlights that will also illuminate the circuit on the outskirts of Doha on Sunday 18th March for the opening round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship.
The Italian Ducati Team rider made the most of today’s session to carry out back-to-back tests with the different aerodynamic configurations at his disposal and to test some new parts on his 2018 version of the Desmosedici GP.
Andrea Dovizioso ended the day in second place with a time of 1’55.104.
The official tests will continue tomorrow and the day after and will conclude Saturday evening with a final session on a wet track surface, which has been organized to evaluate the possibility of racing the Grand Prix of Qatar in rainy conditions.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 1’55.104 (48 laps)
“For me today was a positive day. We did several important tests with the fairings and then we focused on the set-up, but the track conditions weren’t ideal because there wasn’t much grip. All in all the lap times came quite easily but we’ve still got a lot of work to do and, even though my feeling with the bike is good, now we still have to fine-tune it for the race.”