Andrea Dovizioso made an instant impact on his Repsol Honda race debut, in Monday night’s Qatar season opener, rising from seventh to third - directly behind Valentino Rossi.
But the young Italian was forced to back off when his RC212V began losing front end performance, and he slipped to fifth at the chequered flag - one place lower than he had recorded on his MotoGP debut one year ago.
“I didn’t start well but I was able to overtake some riders and get into third position,” confirmed Andrea. “During the first three laps the machine was performing really well - as it had during practice - and I tried to keep in contact with Valentino, but then I started struggling with the front. It was folding entering the corners and, later, also mid-corner, so I couldn’t turn as I would have liked.”
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