Andrea Dovizioso powered to the top of the podium at MotoGP Silverstone a fortnight after his win in Austria. This was the fourth win of the season for the Italian rider, who now heads the championship table for the second time this season with 183 points.
At the start Dovizioso got away well from the second row and finished the opening lap in sixth place. The Italian moved into third on lap 6, battling with a group made up of Rossi, Viñales, Marquez and Crutchlow, and he then overtook the two Spanish riders to move into second behind Rossi. Three laps from the end Andrea passed his rival from Tavullia and then held off a hard-charging Viñales until the chequered flag.
The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will be at the Misano Adriatico circuit on the weekend of 8-10 September with the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix.
Andrea Dovizioso
“I’m so happy about today’s victory, my fourth this year, because every race we win is different from the others, and this means that we are really strong and can fight for the championship. It was a really tough race because all of our rivals were on top form. Today Marquez was unlucky, but we did a perfect race because, even though we were probably not the quickest outright, we were able to interpret it in the best possible way and go on to win. This means that the work we did during the weekend was excellent, and so was my race strategy because I managed to get into the right position at the right time. This year every race is a story in itself and the tyres are always a key factor, but we are very focused on our working method which is producing results.”
Maverick Viñales
“It was difficult, but I think we managed the race really well, especially with the electronics, we were really strong in all the areas. I think we did a good job. This weekend we came back, feeling strong again and that’s the positive point, especially during the last part of the race, during which we weren’t really strong before. This time we were the fastest on the last laps, so we are going to try to be more competitive and even stronger in the next races. I knew that on the last laps my bike was really good, so I was just trying to keep the pace and the concentration and save the tyres until the end. For sure, I was able to do really good laps in the beginning, but then the tyre would have dropped a lot, so I was thinking about doing the other step: go slowly in the beginning and pushing at the end and this was the result. I was catching Dovi on the last lap and trying my best. I set one of my best laps on the last one, so I gave it everything to catch him, but honestly, today, second place was the best we could do. We have to be happy that we’re working in the correct way again.”
Valentino Rossi
“I’m satisfied because it was a great race for me. I was able to ride really well after a great start and I stayed in front and rode on the limit without making mistakes, so I enjoyed it a lot for 17 laps. I think this is a good way to celebrate my 300th race in MotoGP’s premier class. There remains a bit of frustration, because I knew on the last laps I would suffer a bit with the degradation of the rear tyre, but I think this weekend we improved a lot. We’re still not at the top, we have to do better if we want to try to win, but it was a good weekend.”
Marc Marquez
Today was really unlucky, as I was feeling very good on the bike and was there with the others, just trying to manage the race and tyres, especially the front as the temperature was higher than yesterday and I wanted to save it so to attack in the end. I had already seen that Dovi had something more than Viñales and Rossi, but I thought I could try and fight with him. So, everything was going well when I suddenly had a problem with the engine at the end of the straight. It’s a shame of course but that’s something that can happen in racing, and it was the first time for me with Honda. The positives are that we were fast here, as we have been at other tracks, and that we’re still there in the Championship. Zero points today, but I’m still feeling good with the bike and am looking forward to the next races.
