Dovizioso: Nobody had the pace to beat Vinales in Qatar
Nobody had the race pace to beat Maverick Vinales in Sunday's Qatar MotoGP season-opener, according to second-place finisher Andrea Dovizioso.
Vinales converted his testing and practice pace to a win on his Yamaha debut, but had to battle past Dovizioso's Ducati in the closing laps to do so.
Dovizioso made a last-minute change from medium-compound rear tyre to a soft on the grid, putting him at odds with the majority of riders running mediums front and rear.
He conceded he ran short of grip late on, but said if he had mirrored Yamaha's tyre choice Ducati would not have been fast enough to fight for victory - and doubted anyone could have beaten Vinales.
"Today we didn't have the pace to fight Maverick for the win, and I don't think anyone did," said Dovizioso.
"We took the gamble [with the soft tyre] because there was a lot of humidity. We thought the race would be slower and if you don't push really hard you can save the soft tyre.
"After the crash of [Johann] Zarco I was leading and able to save the tyre. I tried to be consistent and not use the potential of the tyre. I did that but still in the last five laps the rear tyre dropped too much.
"As long as I had eight tenths to [Marc] Marquez I thought I could win, but when I saw Maverick five tenths behind I quickly realised he would be in perfect shape for the last part of the race.
"We did a great job, we took the right strategy and to finish second, very close to Maverick, is a good result."
"Dream" first Yamaha win for Vinales
Vinales, who needed several attempts to successfully overtake Dovizioso, described winning on his Yamaha MotoGP debut as a "dream".
"I didn't know how to pass [Dovizioso]. We had a great battle," said the Spaniard, who recorded his second premier class victory after having won for Suzuki at Silverstone last year.
"I knew if I didn't pull out a little bit he was going to pass me as he was so fast on the straight. I was just trying to be smooth, do my best laps at the end and finally we did it.
"It's so great, like being in a dream. First race with Yamaha and winning, I could not ask for more."
Share Or Save This Story
Sho Tsuboi calls for Super Formula engine overhaul as Toyota “can’t properly compete with Honda”
Super Formula Sugo: Igor Fraga livid as safety car gifts Nirei Fukuzumi victory
How a Le Mans winner is changing the game for female racing in Japan
Andrea Dovizioso: “Marc Marquez’s situation is much more serious than it seems”
Yamaha signs Andrea Dovizioso as MotoGP test rider
Dovizioso to test Yamaha MotoGP bike in Misano this week
Yamaha responds to Fabio Quartararo’s criticism and attitude
Fabio Quartararo refuses to be Yamaha’s “test rider” as he reaches breaking point
Fabio Quartararo knew Yamaha engine was going to blow up in tough Aragon GP sprint
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Italian GP
Mick Schumacher joins Meyer Shank Racing for 2027 IndyCar season
Lewis Hamilton worried about Mercedes top speed after Italian GP practice
Jimmie Johnson explains why the time was right for Legacy to add a third car full time
Pedro Acosta may not win a MotoGP race on a KTM - and that’s not a failure
Will the 2026 MotoGP title fight boil down to these three riders?
What we learned from an intriguing MotoGP Aragon GP
How MotoGP's summer break has revitalised Aprilia's factory team
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments