Lorenzo shows who’s boss
While he looked like he had the pace early in Sunday’s race to repeat last year’s performance and take the fight to Marc Marquez at the Red Bull Ring, Andrea Dovizioso admitted afterwards that his seemingly safe decision on tyres backfired. Opting to go with Michelin’s medium option front and rear while Marquez gambled with a hard rear and Lorenzo stuck with soft, Dovi never found the pace to pass his team-mate. He put his poor choice down to lack of dry track time, but after watching then-team-mate Iannone win in 2016 on softs and using them himself last year, some questioned Dovisioso’s decision to not follow Lorenzo’s lead. Afterwards, the Italian admitted
‘With Michelins at one point in the race you always have to save them’
he’d used too much of his medium tyres in trying to make the move on Lorenzo, despite being faster. That meant he was unable to challenge at the end. “You always have to manage the Michelins. You can push from the start with them like Marc did or you can push at the end like Jorge, but at one point in the race you always have to try to save them,” Dovizioso said.
But with Lorenzo now the highest points scorer in the last five races (outscoring even Marquez), it’ll be a psychological blow for Dovi to fall behind his team-mate for the first time in their shared Ducati career.