DOVI DENIED WIN AGAIN
Andrea Dovizioso has once again come away from the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix denied the chance to get his season off to a flying start with a win. It’s the third time in three years that he’s ended the race runner-up to a Yamaha – albeit with three different riders on-board. But despite losing out on the victory to a brilliant Viñales, the Italian came away from the weekend pleased with his achievements, after admitting that he was able to take the fight to the Yamaha-mounted Spaniard much better than expected, despite a last-minute soft tyre gamble. “I think the gamble we took was the right one, because we had good speed, but we just couldn’t finish the race with Maverick. He had a different pace – that was the reality. “After Zarco crashed I was leading and I was able to save the tyre – and that was the only way I was going to be able to finish the race with Maverick. I knew he had better pace and a harder tyre, so I just had to be consistent, but it still dropped too much in the last five laps.” However, despite being able to push the Spaniard right to the line, it doesn’t change Dovi’s pre-season views that Viñales is the man that they all have to beat in the title race. “It’s difficult to understand our potential after one race, after such a strange weekend and especially such a strange race. The gap between a lot of riders was quite small, and I don’t think that’s the reality. “It’s difficult to fully appreciate our potential just yet, but I think we’ll still be competitive at some tracks like we have been in the past – but we’re still missing something. We have to improve in some areas to really stay with Viñales and sometimes Rossi every weekend, because Yamaha are strong at every track and in all conditions.”