Andrea Dovizioso will be on the front row for Sunday’s 28-lap race after finishing third in qualifying, just a fraction slower than Rossi. The Italian, who opted for a three-exit strategy in Q2, set a best time of 1’23.298 on his last lap.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’23’.298 (3rd)
“It was a really tight qualifying session, and it’s great to be on the front row with two other Italian riders. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the pole position: I did a good lap but it wasn’t perfect. In any case the important thing today was to manage to find the best possible set-up for the 28-lap race tomorrow. We worked a lot and in my opinion we have a good chance of having a say in the outcome, even though being competitive throughout the race will be complicated, especially because some riders have made big improvements. In any case I am happy with the work we have done over the weekend, because we have been able to focus a lot on race pace, even though we have to see what will happen with the tyres, which will start to wear two-thirds of the way into the race.”