Andrea Iannone scored a podium at Austin thanks to a third place finish in the GP of the Americas while his teammate Andrea Dovizioso got caught in an accident.
Iannone, who started from row 3, came across the line in seventh place at the end of the opening lap and then moved up through the field to third in the standings after Rossi, Dovizioso and Pedrosa all crashed out and thanks to a pass on Aleix Espargarò. Iannone held on to third place until the chequered flag, finishing the race behind Marquez and Lorenzo.
The race winner said, “In the race however I was very constant and always lapped with a good pace, very close to Jorge’s, and if I had started well, maybe I could even have fought it out for second place.”
Andrea Dovizioso had yet another unfortunate race after starting from row 2. The Italian, after an excellent start, finished the opening lap in second place and maintained that position until lap 5 when he was passed by Lorenzo.
Dovizioso remained right behind his Spanish rival and was defending the position from a fast-recovering Pedrosa, when the Honda man made a mistake under braking at the first corner, hitting the Desmosedici GP of the blameless Italian rider and putting an end to his great race.
While justifiably disappointed with the turn of events, Dovizioso was also realistic, “I also want to look at the positive aspects: I didn’t hurt myself and given the way the incident happened it could have been a lot worse. In addition, in three different races, in very difficult situations to manage for the tyres, we have always been able to fight for the podium. Today we could have been second in the championship just a few points behind Marquez, so from this point of view I am very pleased with the work that we are doing.”
Ducati Corse general manager Luigi Dall’Igna was also optimistic despite the mixed chances, “Today’s podium compensates, at least in part, for last Sunday’s disappointment in Argentina. Iannone ran an intelligent race, without making any mistakes, and he brought home a third place that was important for his morale, and that of the entire team. Dovizioso was really unlucky, because also on this occasion he was having a great race and was unfortunately involved in Pedrosa’s crash while in third place.”
