Kuala Lumpur: Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso Sunday clinched the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix with a flawless display at the Sepang International Circuit here to keep his Championship title hopes alive.
Starting from the third position, Dovizioso of Ducati Team clocked 44:51:497seconds to win his sixth title this season. He had earlier won at Italy, Catalunya, Austria, Great Britain and Japan.
After this victory, the 31-year-old Italian is now 21 points away from title favourite Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), who finished fourth after starting at the seventh position.
“We did everything perfect. It wasn’t easy. I am so happy to show everybody that we can be competitive, with all the work in this track. It was a perfect weekend for us,” said Dovizioso, who had won the Malaysian GP last year also.
Spaniard Marquez, who had a lead of 33 points ahead of the race, will have to fight it out with Dovizioso at the final race at Valencia, November 12 to clinch the Championship.
Among others, Dovizioso’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished second, France’s Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ended the race at the third spot, while Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa, who had topped the qualifying round, finished fifth.
Talking about the next race in Valencia, Dovizioso said, “He has a good track record there. We can be competitive but to overcome 21 points, well something has to happen. He had a great year and even in these difficult conditions he managed to finish fourth.”
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