Andrea Dovizioso reckons he and his Ducati team can still be happy even if Marc Marquez wins the 2017 MotoGP title on Sunday, but has vowed to continue fighting until the end.
The Italian was not tipped for title success in 2017, but five victories – two of which coming after a direct head–to–head with Marquez – keeps him the Spaniard’s closest challenger with just two rounds remaining
Slipping 33–points adrift of Marquez after a season–worst 13th at Phillip Island, Dovizioso knows keeping his title hopes alive will be tough, but says Ducati‘s strong approach to the Sepang weekend thus far proves its determination.
Speaking after qualifying – in which he put his Ducati third while Marquez was only seventh after recovering from a crash – Dovizioss says the difficulties faced by everyone this season as a result of a number of factors during races, and the way in which Ducati managed these situations, is the reason for his championship charge.
“We have to be happy about our five victories and being able to fight to the end of the season, because we did a great championship,” he said.
“It was difficult for everybody because there were a lot of ups and downs for everybody, so there is a reason why it happen (our title challenge).
“It was very difficult to manage every weekend: temperatures, track, tyres, it was very difficult.
“It means we improve the bike a little bit from last year, but I believe we work very well in most of the weekends this year, and that’s why we were able to fight for the championship to the end.
“For sure, we can be happy also with second position in the championship, but we are here to try to win the championship.
“We approach this weekend in this way because we want to do everything until the end, and we are focused to try to get the 25 points tomorrow. We know it will be very difficult, but we are working in the right way to fight for that.”
Dovizioso admits he is relaxed over tyre choice for the race if it is dry, as he has found strong performance from both the soft and the medium rear compounds throughout practice.
“We are in a good situation about the tyres because we have more good options for us,” he explained.
“We were focusing on the soft in the afternoon because already with the medium I have a good feeling, and it worked quite well the soft in the afternoon.
“So, that is not a problem.
“It’s try to be fast like them, save the tyre because the race is long, the heat will make the difference to everybody like always in Sepang.”
