Dovizioso ‘relaxed, Zarco motivated, Marquez fast’

Andrea Dovizioso shrugged off a mistake that would ultimately cost him a place on the front row of the grid at the French Grand Prix, stating his pace is “really, really good” and pointing to home hero Johann Zarco and Marc Marquez as his principle challengers in Sunday’s MotoGP outing at Le Mans.

Such was the Italian’s speed on Friday, he had the benefit of opting out of a mini-qualifying run toward the end of FP3, focussing instead on his set-up for the race. FP4 showcased that potential, and the 32-year old - the fastest in two of the weekend's sessions to date - admitted he “expected more” in the 15-minute Q2 shootout.

A result under braking would leave him with the fifth fastest time, sandwiched between ex-team-mate Andrea Iannone and current colleague Jorge Lorenzo, a matter that left him unmoved when his feeling aboard the Ducati GP18 is as good as it is.

“The feeling is really good, so that’s why I’m relaxed,” said Dovizioso, who equaled his best qualifying performance of the year on Saturday. “This morning I didn’t put the tyre, so that’s why I was 15th, but my pace was really, really good.

“It’s really nice to have a chance to make one practice and don’t put a new tyre at the end, because you are able to use the first five minutes to work on the bike. This makes a big difference. One exit more than normal to work on the bike most of the time makes a big difference. This is what happened.

“In the qualifying, I expected more. I had the chance to be faster, but the first two laps I wasn’t aggressive enough. When I brake, I immediately understood I brake too early. I couldn’t make a perfect lap like this. But split three and four I did really good the speed. At the end, fifth position is fine. The lap time was fast from everybody.

“I don’t think it’s a big problem here to start in the second row. That’s why I’m not too disappointed. Also because we know we can make a better lap time, but apart of that, the pace for the race I think is pretty good.”

Asked what kind of race he expects on Sunday, Dovizioso singled out Zarco and Marquez as the riders in need of most attention, but believes others could join the victory fight. As ever, the final stages of the 27 laps will be crucial.

“It depends who will start in front and if that rider will push from the beginning. That makes a big difference. I think Zarco has a really good pace. I think he will be very strong tomorrow. I saw him riding and he’s very motivated. I think he will be one of the riders being able to fight for the podium and the victory.

“Also Marc I think will be very fast because he’s able to use the best potential of the bike. I don’t think he has the best pace, but he’s really good to manage every situation and in the race he’s always there. We have a really good pace. There is a few other riders with very similar pace as us, but you can’t know if they did the pace in a relaxed way or if they are on the limit.

“Just in the race you can understand really if they can stay there, or they were towards the limit and they can stay for the 27 laps.”

Pressed on whether he feels Zarco is at a disadvantage considering he is still chasing his first triumph in the premier class, Dovizioso was unsure: “It depends,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the same story for every rider. I think he believes a lot in himself, so I don’t think it’s something very difficult or almost impossible. I don’t look that in that way.

“It’s difficult in MotoGP to win every time. I don’t see this something very difficult can happen. It’s difficult to understand the situation from Yamaha from outside. So that is very difficult to know, because if you look, the factory riders are fast, but not like in the past. For sure there is a reason, but we can’t know.

“Zarco is many times in front of them, so it’s very difficult to understand why. Sometimes it’s like this, sometimes the opposite. Also if you’re thinking about the race, you can’t know if you can stay there for the 27 laps. The factory riders looks they are struggling, so it’s very difficult to understand. But I think it’s possible.

“I think that [home] pressure helps Zarco. I don’t know a lot about him, but I think that kind of pressure helps him to use his best potential. That’s why I think tomorrow he can fight to win with me, Marc, maybe some other riders for the victory until the end.

“But me, in the next round in Mugello for sure I will have pressure, but not in a bad way. I think that kind of pressure, like last year where I fight for the championship, I like that pressure. I’m in my position, so I don’t feel I have to do the result because it’s the only chance I have. Is something strange.

“I don’t live in this situation in a strange way. It’s stressful for everybody. Is normal, but most of the time the pressure, there is a possibility to use the pressure in a positive way. It’s very important to try to do that.”