Dovizioso: Marquez's lack of "restraint" gives me title hope

Ducati rider Dovizioso is 21 points adrift of Marquez in the standings, meaning he has no option but to win in Valencia and hope that Marquez can't finish inside the top 11.

While Marquez can theoretically take a safe approach on Sunday, the Honda rider is renowned for never settling for a lower position if he sees a chance to grab a better result.

This, according to Dovizioso, is what could lead to a potential Marquez retirement and open the door for him to snatch the title.

"He is very good and knows how to handle these situations [title showdowns] well," said Dovizioso of his rival.

"It is also true that when he sees an opportunity, he struggles to restrain himself, and then an error can always happen.

"But talking about his mistakes makes no sense. Our strategy is to try and win the race."

Asked about his approach, Marquez underlined that riding just to finish inside the top 11 is not his style, and he will "give 100 percent" in the race.

"It’s not my way to ride [cautiously]," said Marquez. "This weekend I'll push like always, I will try to do 100 percent.

"Then on Sunday after warm-up, we will see where we are, where is Dovi, where is the level of the other riders and then we will decide.

"I will not go out and say 10th place is ok, or 11th or ninth. I will go out to find the feeling with the bike, give 100 percent and try to enjoy the race.

"Keeping the same mentality as always because anything can happen. We'll try to be at the same level and finish the race, that is the most important."

"I don't feel defeated"

Dovizioso has only been able to stand on the podium in Valencia once in his MotoGP career, and has done no better than fourth as a Ducati rider.

While Dovizioso expects to be more competitive this year than previously, he admits that winning the race could be a tall order.

"Maybe us winning is less likely than Marquez retiring," the Italian admitted.

"Valencia has features that are not easy for our bike, but last year we were not so far away. This year we will be more competitive.

"After the season we had, I don't feel defeated, absolutely not. We have shown that we can be competitive in places we weren't in the past."

Additional reporting by Lena Buffa