Catalunya MotoGP Reaction: Andrea Dovizioso satisfied with fourth

Italian rookie Andrea Dovizioso equalled his best MotoGP result with a brilliant fourth place finish in today’s Catalunya clash.

The JIR Scot Honda rider was second for the opening two laps before he slipped behind reigning world champion Casey Stoner on lap three.

The former world 125 champion continued to run a fast pace and on lap eight he claimed second place back when Stoner made a mistake and ran wide.

On the next lap though he was relegated back to fourth as Stoner and Valentino Rossi swept by, but Dovizioso comfortably held off Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards to equal his best result in 2008.

He said: “This was a great race which gave me a lot of satisfaction. Since practice I tested many starts to be ready to go when the red lights went off which is why I had such a good start so I was able to be fast to be able to gain some positions.

“This is why at the end of lap one I was second. Dani was incredibly fast today, but I was able to stay with Valentino and Casey and was able to keep that pace. The level of competition was very high but when Vale passed Stoner I lost half a second and sadly I was not able to regain this time.

“Fourth is the same result as Qatar, but the value of this race is different: that was my first MotoGP race but now I have more experience, so this is why I’m looking at improved race-by race results.

“If I hadn’t lost that half-second I could have fought for the podium and the final satisfaction could have been even bigger. Either way, I’m very happy as even when I was alone I was able to maintain a good rhythm and this is good.

“I want to thank the team for the excellent technical package we had today!”