Andrea Dovizioso powered to a third place finish in the German Grand Prix, which was held today at the Sachsenring circuit. His team-mate Andrea Iannone finished the race in fifth place.
The ninth round of the season got underway following copious morning rainfall and all riders opted to start with rain tyres on the wet track surface. When the lights changed, Dovizioso got off the line well and moved into the lead on the third lap, but he was then passed by Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Racing Ducati), whom he followed until lap 10. After the crash that put an end to Petrucci’s race, Dovizioso took over the lead again followed by Rossi, and stayed in that position until lap 22. The next time round all the riders in the leading group entered the pits to change bikes, seeing as the track surface was drying, and the Italian returned to the track with a rear slick tyre and a front intermediate, finding himself behind Redding. Dovizioso was then passed by Crutchlow but on the last lap he managed to overtake Pramac’s British rider and finish the race in third place.
It was a bit of a come-back race for Andrea Iannone, who started from the third row like his team-mate. The Italian, who crossed the line on the opening lap in seventh place, then decided to come into the pits to change bikes at the end of lap 13, while in eighth place. On returning to the track with intermediate tyres, Iannone moved back up the field lap by lap, and he eventually took the chequered flag in fifth place.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team # 04) – 3rd
“I managed to get off to a good start and immediately get into the leading group. After Petrucci’s crash, I took the lead again and concentrated on lapping quickly without wearing out the front tyre, trying not to turn into the corners abruptly and getting the bike back up out of the corners as soon as possible. The track was starting to dry out, but I stayed focused on the tyres and for this reason I missed out on the best moment to come back in and change bikes. Maybe if I had come in at least two laps before, we might have been celebrating the win. But let’s look on the positive side: we were at the Sachsenring, on a track where we have never gone well, and today we were in the lead for lots of laps. In the end we go back home with a well-deserved podium, which I want to dedicate to my team who have been working really hard.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 5th
“Today was a very complicated race. In the early laps I was lapping at the same pace as the leaders, even though I had some problems in acceleration, and as I had to make up in the corners what I was losing on the straight I began to notice some problems with the front. In some corners the steering tended to turn in on itself and I realized that I was taking too many risks, so I decided to slow my pace to try and keep the situation under control. At this point I opted to come in early to change bikes and we had a few problems in the pit-lane, but these are things that can happen with all the confusion, and probably the guys in my team didn’t expect me to come in so soon. When I returned to the track the surface was still very wet and I tried to limit the damage by not making any mistakes. In the end I took home a fifth place and some good points for the championship, all the while making up points on those ahead of me in the standings and this is important.”
