Andrea Dovizioso was back on the podium again in the GP of Japan at the end of a great comeback race that saw him fight his way through from the third row at the start to third place at the chequered flag. The Ducati Team rider, who got off to a good start, finished the opening lap in fifth place and then at the mid-point first passed Miller and then Morbidelli, before subsequently holding off attacks from Viñales. In the last few laps Andrea then closed the gap to Quartararo in second, and he took the flag just under five-tenths of a second behind the French rider. With third place Dovizioso has now reached a total of 100 career podiums in GP racing.

Danilo Petrucci, who also started from the third row, unfortunately lost a few positions in the first half of the race but was then able to resume a good pace after lap 12 and he worked his way up to ninth, finishing in the same position at the flag. In the Riders’ standings, Andrea Dovizioso consolidates his second place, with an advantage of 55 points over Rins and Viñales in third, while Danilo Petrucci remains in fifth place, six points ahead of Quartararo.

Ducati still lies second in the Constructors’ classification and the Ducati Team first in the special Teams’ standings.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 3rd
“At the end of the race my feeling with the bike was really excellent, so much so that we did our fastest lap on the penultimate lap. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pass Quartararo, who I saw was in a bit of difficulty in the final stages, but I think I could have overtaken him if there had been one more lap. I’m quite disappointed with my first part of the race however, because despite having good grip we were unable to be fast enough. We’ll now have to analyze the situation in detail to understand what the problem was and be ready for the race at Phillip Island.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 9th
“I can’t be satisfied with my result, even though I fought a lot in the race. Unfortunately, I struggled a lot in the early laps with the front tyre, which was heating up too much, but when I managed to get it back down to the right temperature I started to lap with good times and I was fast in the final part of the race. Something’s still missing for me to get back and race at the top, but I feel that I’m getting back to being close to my level at the start of the season. It’s clear that we must, and we want to do better and luckily Australia is only in one weeks’ time.”

The MotoGP World Championship now moves to Australia where the Australian Grand Prix will be held at the Phillip Island circuit next weekend (25th-27th October).