MotoGP: Dovizioso Takes Ducati’s 50th Win in Dramatic Spielberg Race

Andrea Dovizioso secured his first win of the season and Ducati’s 50^th premier class victory in a crash-strewn race at the Red Bull Ring.

Joan Mir and Jack Miller completed the podium while the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales encountered problems that saw them finishing outside the top seven.

The Austrian GP was not short of drama with an early red flag following a horrific incident at Turn 2 and the race turning into a battle of survival after the restart.

Punches were exchanged early into the initial race and a leading group of five eventually emerged with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3).

Espargaro started to stretch out an advantage in front and thereby forced Dovizioso to a reaction. On Lap 8 the Ducati rider first took Mir for third, closely followed by Miller for second at Turn 9 to hunt the KTM down.

Disaster struck a lap later when Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) collided in the run up to Turn 3. Zarco moved towards the inside of the upcoming corner, unaware of Morbidelli riding in that spot. The Ducati’s rear wheel collected the Yamahas front wheel and both ran into the gravel. The Avintia bike went flying through the air after smashing into the air fence while the Petronas Yamaha slid straight onto the track at the exit of Turn 3. Both machines came crashing back on the course and only narrowly missed the two Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales.

The red flag was brought out to clear the scattered parts off the track, with all involved walking away mercifully unscathed.

Espargaro was visibly frustrated by the race being stopped when he was running first and went aggressively into the 20-lap restart. He had to surrender to Miller though who hit the front at Turn 2. In difference to the other riders, the Australian had fitted a soft front and soft rear tyre and swiftly started to pull away from the field.

Behind him paint was being swapped between Espargaro, Dovizioso, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Mir and Oliveira. Dovizioso took second on Lap 3, diving down the inside of Espargaro at Turn 9, and started to hunt down his fellow Ducati in front.

While the #4 stretched away from the group, Espargaro had his hands full with the two Suzukis. Espargaro ran wide at Turn 9 on Lap 5 and allowed Rins through, but the superior pace of the KTM prevailed on the start/finish straight going into Lap 6.

Rins immediately hit back and took third, quickly closing in on Dovizioso ahead of him. Espargaro meanwhile started to look frustrated and his riding became increasingly scrappy. His aggressive appraoch cost him on Lap 9 when he ran wide at Turn 4 and cut back in, colliding with Oliveira and ending both their races.

The incident was a carbon copy of Espargaro’s controversial crash in Brno a week ago, the Spaniard yet again throwing away a possible top result due to impatient and aggressive riding. Oliveira was left without a chance and deprived of what could have been a career-best finish.

Miller’s gap out front meanwhile was gone and Dovizioso pounced on the start/finish straight with 11 laps remaining. The soft tyre gamble started to take its toll and Miller also fell victim to Rins at Turn 9.

The Suzuki was running at a great pace and Rins was smelling a first victory of the season. He attempted a move on Dovizioso on Lap 11, lunging down the Ducati’s inside at Turn 6, but he lost the front and his hopes ended in the gravel. Rins’ exit promoted his teammate Mir into a podium position and the Spaniard swiftly closed in on the leading Ducatis.

Dovizioso slowed the pace down to manage his tyres and prepare for the final third of the race. With five laps remaining he started to edge away from his competitors and quickly stretched the gap to roundabout a second.

Desmo Dovi did not look back from there and rode to a well-controlled victory, maintaining Ducati’s 100 per cent win record at the Red Bull Ring. It was a dream result for Dovizioso who not only got his mediocre 2020 campaign back on track but also demonstrated his worth after contract negotiations with Ducati broke down and the Italian announced his departure from the Bologna factory on Saturday. His 15^th career win also promotes him to second in the championship standings, only 11 points behind Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

The battle for second meanwhile was far from over. Mir had the better pace, but Miller held a tight, defensive line and used the Ducati’s superior acceleration to stay in front. Mir rode a smart race, not taking too much risk and making sure to bring a safe podium position home. His patience paid of on the final lap when Miller ran wide at Turn 9 and left the door open for the Suzuki rider to sweep through for second.

It was the first podium of Mir’s premier class career and of Miller’s 2020 season. Both riders were in promising form since racing returned and vastly deserved their efforts to finally be turned into a finish on the rostrum.

The numerous crashes out front had promoted last week’s winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) into fourth. The South African was running alone on the track for the majority of the race but found himself under intense pressure from Rossi on the final laps. Although Rossi did not catch Binder after all, he still finished top Yamaha in fifth. Behind them Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) found good late-race pace and crossed the line in sixth.

Championship leader Quartararo had run wide at Turn 4 before the red flag came out and went into the restarted race from last position. He steadily made his way through the order and battled with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) for seventh on the final lap. Despite losing out on the start/finish straight, the Frenchman continues to head the championship standings.

Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) secured a great finish in ninth while Viñales struggled heavily at the Red Bull Ring and rounded out the top 10. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Gresini) was 11^th ahead of replacement rider Michele Pirro (Pramac Racing) and Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) finished 14^th and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) took the last point on offer in 15^th. Outside the points ranks Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) was 16^th and Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team), still standing in for the injured Marc Marquez, was the last rider to finish the race.