Dovizioso wins for Ducati at Mugello
Andrea Dovizioso defied food poisoning to claim his first ever dry MotoGP win in front his home fans at Mugello on Sunday.
In the process, the Italian handed home manufacturer Ducati its first win at the circuit since Casey Stoner in 2009.
Dovi didn't even post a flying lap in morning warm-up due to his sickness, but was a constant contender in the 23-lap race, taking the lead from Yamaha's Maverick Vinales on lap 14 and edging away to a 1.281s victory margin.
Vinales in turn was able to pull late breathing room over an impressive Danilo Petrucci, the Pramac rider having caught and passed countryman and Mugello legend Valentino Rossi to take the final podium place.
Rossi, riding with chest and stomach injuries from last week's motocross accident, was in the lead group throughout the race, but suffered in the closing stages to finish 1.3s from Petrucci's Ducati.
Aspar Ducati's Alvaro Bautista got the better of reigning champion Marc Marquez for fifth place, the Spaniard never featuring at the sharp end but at least avoiding the fate of Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa - who fell on the final lap.
Pedrosa made an ill-fated attempt to pass Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) for eleventh, but lost the front and brought them both down. The Englishman made his feelings clear.
Johann Zarco (Tech 3) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) finished seventh and eighth - Lorenzo fading after playing a leading role in the thrilling early laps, in which he overtook Rossi to briefly lead the race.
Ducati wild-card Michele Pirro and countryman Andrea Iannone (Suzuki) completed the top ten on a day when the Espargaro brothers joined Pedrosa and Crutchlow on the DNF list, Aleix (Aprilia) also jumping the start.
Vinales now holds an increased 26-point title lead, over new nearest rival Dovizioso heading into next weekend's Catalunya round.
CLICK HERE for the full results.
CLICK HERE for the NEW World Championship standings.
1.Andrea Dovizioso2.Maverick Vi?ales3.Danilo Petrucci4.Valentino Rossi5.Alvaro Bautista6.Marc Marquez7.Johann Zarco8.Jorge Lorenzo9.Michele Pirro10.Andrea Iannone11.Tito Rabat12.Scott Redding13.Jonas Folger14.Hector Barbera15.Jack Miller16.Karel Abraham17.Sylvain Guintoli18.Loris Baz19.Sam Lowes20.Bradley Smith
Cal Crutchlow
Dani Pedrosa
Aleix Espargaro
Pol Espargaro
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
