Andrea Dovizioso stepped on the podium once again today at Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina), third on the finish line. The Italian, who started from first row, dictated the pace within the group of riders fighting for the podium while chasing Marquez, and held second position for most of the race to fend off his rivals valiantly until the very last lap before facing a drop in tyre performance. Dovizioso’s third-place finish marks his second consecutive podium in 2019 after a thrilling victory in Qatar and puts him in second position in the championship, just four points behind the provisional leader.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 3rd
“I’m undoubtedly happy with the podium, which was our goal ahead of this round on a historically difficult track for us. On the other hand, I’m not particularly satisfied with how the rear tyre performed, because we couldn’t pull away towards the end of the race, which is the opposite of what we expected in light of what we’ve seen during practice. In the last lap, I couldn’t shake off Rossi or pass him back, it would have been too risky and 16 points are still very important for us. For sure, we collected some interesting data, which we’ll analyse in depth ahead of next race. Austin is yet another tricky track for us theoretically, so our goal in Texas will be to try to step once again on the podium.”

After moving forward with the work on the race setup with positive feedback – gaining direct access to Q2 – Andrea Dovizioso then focused on a flying lap during the decisive qualifying session. Andrea Dovizioso – who posted the best provisional time on Friday – confirmed once again his competitiveness to claim first row with the third-best time in 1:38.468, just over a tenth of a second behind pole position. On the other hand, Danilo Petrucci faced a somewhat more difficult session, which put him in tenth position with a personal best of 1:39.093, but nonetheless has shown significant improvements in terms of race pace.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:38.468 (3rd)
“I’m very happy with our speed here so far, we’ve been competitive in each session and this first row shows it. Over the last few years we had to play defense here in Argentina, but now we have further confirmation that our base has improved. We managed to get progressively closer to Marquez, he is still the man to beat here but he’s not far. There are several riders with a strong pace and weather conditions may change tomorrow, so it was particularly important to start at the front. It’ll be a tough race, but I’m quite confident about our chances to go on the attack.”

The Mission Winnow Ducati rider resumed action today at Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) for the second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship. In Friday’s free-practice – characterised by extremely narrow gaps, with 21 riders within less than a second – Andrea Dovizioso initially focused on the race setup and then went on the attack in the final stages of the second and last session.
Dovizioso made the most of the soft rear tyre to post a 1:39.181, about 1.5 seconds faster than his previous best in FP1, to claim the top of the time sheets, further confirming the competitiveness already shown in Qatar.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:39.181 (1st)
“I’m very happy, especially because we struggled quite a bit here in recent years and today, on the other hand, we found a good feeling with the bike right away. We are all extremely close so the lap time itself isn’t too important, but I feel much better riding compared with last year here. I still don’t know whether it’ll be enough to fight for the podium, because there are many riders with a strong pace and this track is peculiar, especially in terms of grip, which is particularly low. Anyhow, we have an excellent base, we made some steps forward with the setup and I think we still have room for improvement.”

After achieving a spectacular win in the opening race of the year in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso is ready to resume action in Argentina for the second round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, scheduled for March 29-31 on the Termas de Río Hondo track, located in the North of the country.
Ahead of the GP, the FIM Court of Appeal ruled that the appendix mounted on the swingarm of the Ducati Desmosedici GP 19 of Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller is complying with the technical regulations and therefore can be utilized again during the 2019 championship.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1st (25 points)
“We started the season in the best possible way, winning the opening race in Qatar, but the championship is long and we know by experience we cannot let our guard down. We have a great base, we’re working efficiently and we were able to make the most of our strong suits at Losail, especially in terms of acceleration and top speed, but we need to improve our mid-corner speed. To this end, the upcoming race will represent a good benchmark and will allow us to try some new solutions. Our goal is to be on the podium also on less favorable tracks to be in contention until the very last race.”

Andrea Dovizioso seized a spectacular win in the Qatar GP, the opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, on the Mission Winnow Ducati team’s Desmosedici. The Italian thus repeated the result achieved last year, once again beating Marc Marquez to the finish line for just 23 thousandths of a second. For Dovizioso, who scored five consecutive podiums at the Losail track, it’s the 12th win with Ducati.
Starting from first row, Dovizioso led the race from the very beginning, battling with Marquez and Rins, then tried to pull away from the pack in the last few laps. Marquez tried a move at the very last corner but the Italian once again managed to answer back to cross the finish line in first position.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1st
“I’m super happy about this win, especially because after the tests I wouldn’t have expected to be so fast. We stayed focused and we made progress in each session. Our strategy in the race was simply to preserve the tyre, and this made the difference, but it wasn’t easy because I led for most of the race and I couldn’t really study my opponents. Marquez gave it everything he could, as usual, and pushed me to the limit. We made the most of our strenghths, that is, acceleration and top speed, but we still need to improve our corner speed. This year there are plenty of quick riders and it’ll be crucial not to lose too many points on less favorable tracks. We need to keep our feet on the ground and continue working in this direction.”

The Mission Winnow Ducati rider resumed action today at the Losail circuit in Qatar, home of the opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship. After completing FP3, which granted him direct access to Q2, Dovizioso took advantage of FP4 to prepare the race then focused on a flying lap in the decisive qualyfing session.
Andrea Dovizioso proved once again his prowess on the Qatari track, where he took the win last year, to post a 1:53.744 that granted him second position on the grid.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:53.744 (2nd)
“I’m very happy because we managed to improve significantly over the weekend. The tests here left us with a few doubts, but we stayed calm and focused, which in the end is always the best approach. We have great chemistry within my team and we knew how to react. We posted a really fast lap, which wasn’t even perfect, so I’m even more confident about our possibilities. That said, the lap times don’t necessarily show how the race will unfold, since the wind and low track temperatures can still change the picture. At any rate, I’m really happy to start from first row.”

Andrea Dovizioso is back in action today in Qatar at the Losail track, home of the opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, for the first free-practice sessions of the season. The Italian rider, fourth at the end of the FP1, improved by a second in FP2 to finish in sixth position in the combined time sheets.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati) – 1:54.256 (6th)
“I’m very happy because we managed to put together all the feedback gathered during the tests and come back to our usual levels of competitiveness. Track conditions were quite good today, as shown by the overall fast lap times, but the situation could still change come race time. At any rate, we’re up there with our rivals and ready to put up a fight. That said, we still have room for improvement under some aspects. We need to analyze the data to optimize our strategy, especially in terms of tyre performance.”

After positively concluding two three-day, pre-season tests, the last of which took place about one week ago in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso and the Mission Winnow Ducati team are ready for the opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at the Losail track, located on the outskirts of Doha.
The Italian rider, who enjoyed yet another successful season, in which he took four wins and finished in second position overall for the second consecutive year with nine podiums overall, is ready to begin his 12th year in MotoGP and seventh consecutive with the Ducati outfit.
The Qatar GP is the only one on the calendar to be held at night: the start is scheduled for Sunday night at 20:00 local time (CET +2).

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Mission Winnow Ducati)
“We worked positively and methodically during the winter break, and I’m confident we’ll be ready to put up a fight from the very first round. The lap times from the tests, especially in Qatar, don’t really show the whole picture since most riders mostly worked on race pace. As for us, we collected plenty of interesting data and we analyzed it into great detail to come up with the best possible strategy ahead of this round. We’ll be able to assess our level and that of our opponents more in depth only once we take it back to the track, but what matters is that our feeling with the bike has been very good up to this point.”