Dovizioso blames tyre choice for Iannone defeat

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso believes his more conservative tyre choice cost him a shot at ending his own MotoGP losing streak at the Red Bull Ring today.

Dovizioso was beaten by his teammate Andrea Iannone, who gambled on a softer rear tyre and used it to pass him with eight laps to go and pull away to score a maiden MotoGP victory – Ducati’s first in almost six years.

“Yes, I'm disappointed about that [tyre choice],” admitted Dovizioso. “We worked very well. The bike was perfect, I was braking better than Andrea, but I didn't have the same grip on the right side [of the tyre] especially at the end of the race. Not because of the drop [degradation] but because the grip was less.

“I pushed really hard at the end, to try to be close on braking to overtake him, but I couldn't stay very close. I’m very disappointed about that.

“But for Ducati to come first and second is special.”

Iannone delight at maiden victory

Despite a rib injury sustained in a motocross training accident recently, Iannone kept his nerve in the face of Dovizioso’s race-long pressure.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Iannone. “It's very, very difficult to explain this emotion, my first MotoGP win with Ducati, I started on this bike in this category and I've worked for four years with this incredible group that supported me 100 percent from the beginning.

“Now, I know I finish my contract at the end of this season, but I think this is a very good present [to them].”