Dovozioso: "I'm Not at Pedrosa's Level"

Andrea Dovizioso

Although he is known for his great racing capabilities in rainy conditions, Honda's Andrea Dovizioso performed miserably in the last 10 laps of the French Grand Prix, missing out on his first podium of the year to teammate Dani Pedrosa.

While more than 7 seconds ahead of his Honda teammate – with approximately 10 laps to go – Dovizioso slowly lost his advantage to the Spaniard and, only 3 corners to the finish line, had no answer to Pedrosa's overtaking maneuver for 3rd place. Being unable to respond, “Dovi” had to settle for 4th place, as he later apologized to his team for his final run at Le Mans.

“My only regret is with the last lap, where I didn't move in the right way. It's a shame, I'm sorry for the team. We worked hard and I'm very happy with the race: we were going extremely quick in the rain, we pitted at the right time even though we could have done that a few laps earlier. I'd say everything went well, so I'm sorry about missing the podium,” said Dovizioso, talking to Italian broadcaster Italia 1.

Having said that, he also admitted he is currently to match Pedrosa's form in the championship. Being a fresh starter with Honda's works team, the Italian rider is yet to find the necessary package to equal his more experienced teammate. Pedrosa is currently 4th in the overall classification, some 14 points ahead of the Italian rider.

“I can't say I'm at his level because he's riding more quickly than me. So I congratulate him, because I know exactly what our package is, so to be able to do what he does means he's worked well, he has experience with this bike, and he's riding it quickly, really quickly. We're working, we are getting closer. Unfortunately we aren't as quick as he is yet, but we are getting closer and I hope we can do it as soon as possible,” concluded Dovizioso.