Andrea Dovizioso today produced a superb performance at the Sepang International Circuit to take victory in the Shell Malaysia Grand Prix, the Ducati Team rider crossing the finish-line ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo at the end of 29 rain-soaked laps. Powering away from pole, Dovizioso was third at the end of lap 1 behind Rossi and Andrea Iannone, who then put on a terrific scrap for first . On lap 12 Dovi passed Iannone and set off after Rossi, whom he passed on lap 15, and from then on he pulled out a small lead over the Yamaha rider to take the flag with a margin of more than three seconds. The Italian had not won a race in MotoGP since the British Grand Prix at Donington in 2009 and thanks to this result he moves up into fifth place in the table with 162 points.
Andrea Iannone had a good race but was out of luck in the end after starting from the second row. The Italian, who returned to the team after his crash at Misano, took the lead on lap 2 and then remained in that position until lap 10. Iannone was then passed by Rossi and, on the next lap, also by his team-mate and he then crashed out at Turn 9, putting an end to his good performance.
Thanks to today’s result, Ducati lies third in the Manufacturers’ championship with 245 points.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“It was very important for me to win a race this year: I’ve been trying for so long and I’ve come close on several occasions, so satisfaction for today’s result is truly immense. I really powered to the win, because in the first half of the race I could not push too hard, but I didn’t give up, I didn’t make any mistakes and at the right time I passed both Iannone and Rossi and set my own pace. I am very happy about the improvements we have made this year, both in the bike and with my team, but also on a personal level. I am working hard also for next year and this win, which has come at the end of the season, is just reward for all the efforts.”
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – DNF
“It was a great race, I started off really strongly and aggressively and immediately had a great scrap with Rossi. I really enjoyed it a lot and in the end, even though I crashed, I am pleased because I gave 100%. In view of my position in the championship, I ran my own race without thinking of the points and I opted to take some risks right until the very end. During the weekend we were missing a little something, because we were not able to improve the set-up of the bike after yesterday. We had some ideas and we hoped that the race was going to be dry, but it didn’t turn out that way.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“I am really happy for Andrea Dovizioso’s win, he’s had an excellent season even though he has been out of luck on occasions, so his position in the standings does not reflect his true worth. Well done Andrea! He made a perfect race, controlling the situation in the early laps and then attacking at the right moment to bring home this splendid result, which was important both for him and the team. The Desmosedici GP has always gone well in the wet, but we know we still have to improve some aspects in the dry and we are making every effort to do so. Pity about Andrea Iannone, he was having a good race on his return after his crash at Misano.”
