Dovizioso: 'I didn’t expect a good race', situation at Jerez 'pretty bad'

Hoping to finally show the Dovizioso of old in Jerez, last weekend’s Spanish MotoGP was another hugely disappointing day for the former three-time runner-up. 

At no point was Dovizioso really in contention for points, as he instead struggled to push from the very beginning. 

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Despite claiming many riders around him were suffering from a lack of front grip, the Italian was unable to capitalize as he finished 17th - his second worst finish of the season (excluding his DNF at Mandalika).

Situation at Yamaha is ‘pretty bad’ - Dovizioso

Even after an apology during the Portimao MotoGP from Yamaha and assurances that efforts would be made to produce a better bike, Jerez was a continuation of what we’ve seen throughout 2022 for Dovizioso and factory rider Franco Morbidelli. 

Both riders were once again miles behind Fabio Quartararo who fought for victory. 

Speaking about his race, Dovizioso said: "I didn't expect a good race, to be honest. I didn't have a strong front grip and I saw all the other riders around me struggling with that. 

"It was very strange that nobody at all from the first lap was straight braking in the middle of the corner and it was very difficult. 

"It happened already in the past in Jerez, sometimes it is like this in the race. It's very strange, but when you see the lap times from the front group you are a bit surprised because without the grip, this was impossible. 

"It's pretty bad, I expected to be able to push, but I couldn't from the first lap. So, I just tried to survive and finish the race somehow."

Jerez MotoGP test a slight improvement? 

"It was pretty good, although it’s always physically hard to do a test straight after a race weekend, but at the same time, it’s always important to do it at the same track, because you have the right references to understand what you can try," continued Dovizioso. 

"We didn’t have new material, but we had the chance to use the day to test several settings, whereas during the weekend we don’t have time for that. We tried some different things in terms of weight distribution and other things. In the end, I felt a bit better. 

"The conditions have been different compared to the weekend, because there was more wind. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with today."

Front tyre pressure ‘sky-high’ for Morbidelli 

As was to be expected fighting in the mid-pack, avoiding front tyre pressure rising was going to be key to making any sort of progress, something the 2020 runner-up failed to do. 

Morbidelli gained just one place during the 25-lap race, and although it resulted in a points score, finishing 15th is a long way off where he and that bike should be. 

While world champion Fabio Quartararo was two tenths off the win, Morbidelli was 27 seconds away, the type of gap that is becoming all too familiar during race situations.

"When you start from far behind, and it's difficult to overtake like it is for us, the front pressure goes sky-high and you can't ride anymore," added Morbidelli. "Basically, I couldn't push all race long. I could only push when I overtook Luca [Marini], three laps before the end. 

"Actually, the lap times weren't so bad towards the end. But starting from far behind things are like this. 

"We will work to refine everything and make another step in tomorrow's test, and then we will see in Le Mans."