Dovizioso: A situation much better than last year

One year ago, Andrea Dovizioso began the European stage of the MotoGP season fourth in the world championship, 26 points behind Valentino Rossi.

The 2017 title runner-up returns to Jerez leading the points standings, by a single digit over reigning champion Marc Marquez, having scored 16 points more than at the same time last year.

However the Ducati rider has never finished higher than fifth at Jerez and - with the top five riders covered by eight points - will almost certainly need a new 'personal best' this weekend to retain the championship lead.

“We come to the first European round of the season first in the standings, a situation that is clearly much better than last year, and this is certainly positive," said the Italian.

"We managed the first three rounds well, but we could also see that our rivals are all really fast.

"In November last year we did a good [private] test at the Jerez circuit and the new asphalt had good grip, but it was colder then so we will have to wait for Friday to get a better idea of the track conditions.”