The overachieving rider vindicating his MotoGP contract demands

Amidst the chaos of MotoGP's dramatic return at the Spanish Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso guided his GP20 Ducati through the scorching temperatures to his first podium at Jerez in the MotoGP class.

The last time Ducati won at Jerez was in 2006, with Loris Capirossi claiming victory on a similarly dramatic day (Valentino Rossi's title defense got off to a nightmare start when Toni Elias took him out at Turn 1 on the opening lap). Typically, it's never been one of the Desmosedici's strongest haunts.

With Marc Marquez's title hopes taking a serious knock as a broken right arm is set to rule him out until at least the third round in the Czech Republic (and that's very much the best case scenario), the man who has been his nearest challenger in the past three seasons would seemingly emerge as favourite to usurp the king from his throne.

But the reality is quite different.

Both Dovizioso and his factory Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci struggled across the pre-season tests to adapt to Michelin's new construction of rear tyre, which is a bit softer than the previous carcass it used. The net result is a tyre that offers better grip and durability.

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It's something that seems to be benefitting the inline four-cylinder engine bikes of the Yamaha and Suzuki, as their supreme natural cornering performance means they can take profit of the tyre better. Aprilia, though not powered by an inline four, has found the same benefit due to its nimble chassis - though it's not yet shown it can use this to its advantage after a disappointing Spanish GP weekend in the wilderness.

Honda, for example, is finding the added grip to be a bit of a problem because it's "critical" front end meant in previous years RC213V riders have had to use the rear to turn the bike. Cal Crutchlow semi-joked at the weekend that Honda needed to "lose a bit of grip". The added grip is also pushing the front into corners, which actually caused Marquez's tumble at Turn 2 on Friday afternoon.

This problem of being unable to slide the bike during cornering has been the biggest issue which has affected Ducati, as Dovizioso explains.

"It has a lot of grip, the casing is softer, but it's very difficult to make this slide you want if you compare the previous tyre," he said. "So, we are struggling because we need some slide on entry to brake in the way we want, the way we need with our bike and we are working on that on entry.

"And on exit happen the same things, the characteristics of the tyre is that [it] is difficult to manage the slide. It's so quick and it's difficult to make a small slide and decide how much you want to slide to turn the bike.

"You lose the rear tyre quick and when you slide like that you are not fast. So, we are struggling on that, but it's a small thing. We made a step from the test, we analysed, we tried something and the speed improved, but still I'm not comfortable."

"We are in the same situation as last year. We miss a bit of speed. About strategy, managing the tyre, I think after this race, we will be stronger. But speed, the speed's still not that good to make the strategy with the fastest riders" Andrea Dovizioso

Curiously, however, the new tyres don't seem to be tripping up the Pramac pair of Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia - both of on identical GP20s to Dovizioso and Petrucci.

"I don't think we've had a problem at all with the new Michelin," Miller said after last Wednesday's test at Jerez. It's more or less the comment he's been making since the winter.

"In Qatar and Malaysia I was one of the fastest guys, so I don't think it made a difference with the braking or anything," he added. "Had we started the season off in Qatar, I think we would have had more of a chance [to fight for victory] because these tracks are normally ones that suit our bikes more."

Indeed, Bagnaia outqualified Dovizioso by over half a second in fourth, with Miller also beating him in fifth. And in the race, the Pramac bikes were generally stronger than Dovizioso in the early stages, with Miller heading him for 23 of the 25 laps. Had it not been for some physical issues for Miller and a drop in front grip, both would likely have beaten Dovizioso to third.

To his immense credit, Dovizioso battled through punishing heat sitting in the firing line of exhaust gasses while stuck in the group and a bike not working how he wanted it - which he admitted almost made him pull out before the chequered flag - to salvage a podium finish.

As far as damage limitation goes, it's the dream start - "like a victory", he later branded it. But to hope for a repeat this weekend, regardless of any benefit that can be drawn from deploying a weekend's worth of data on the same track, will be a stretch.

"We are in the same situation as last year, we miss a bit of speed," he revealed. "About strategy, managing the tyre, I think after this race, we will be stronger.

"But the speed's still not that good to make the strategy with the fastest riders. I was just behind (5.9s from the win, 1.4s from second) and like that, [while] we're not that fast, this is positive. But without the speed, all the strategy and all the work you're doing during the weekend is different."

Since the back end of last year, the factory Ducati team and Dovizioso have slipped off kilter. Having fought for the win in Thailand in 2018, Dovizioso was fourth last year. At Phillip Island he was only seventh, while Miller and Bagnaia were third and fourth. At Malaysia - a track Dovizioso has won at twice - he was a distant third, and once again he was beaten by Miller to the podium in Valencia.

The new tyre has thrown Dovizioso a curveball, but there's something missing within that works team that isn't at Pramac.

Dovizioso was pretty adamant in the winter that he would just need time in 2020 to get his head around the tyre. Time, of course, is no longer a luxury any rider has. But he did show some optimism at his prospects heading to Brno and the Red Bull Ring next month.

"For sure, I am really interested to see in a different track how we work," he said. "In Malaysia and Qatar, we struggled a little bit, but not that much in Qatar (where Dovizioso has won at for the past two years).

"So let's see in a good track for us, like Brno, Austria, if it will be similar to last year or if there is the same difference as at this track. But in the end, the podium here is for sure a good result for me and for us."

Even if his Jerez podium doesn't tell the true story of where he and Ducati is at, it shows at least where his head is at. And, in transforming a disappointing qualifying into a podium, Dovizioso almost certainly knows the statement this sends to Ducati

With Yamaha likely to struggle with its lack of top speed compared to the Ducati (the slowest Yamaha of Quartararo was 12km/h down on Dovizioso in Friday practice) at Brno and Red Bull Ring, and if Dovizioso does find a better response from the tyre there, the potential to really embed himself in the title fight is significant.

But even if his Jerez podium doesn't tell the true story of where he and Ducati is at, it shows at least where his head is at. And, in transforming a disappointing qualifying into a podium, Dovizioso almost certainly knows the statement this sends to Ducati amid tough contract negotiations for 2021.

Ducati has taken the decision to wait until the races in August have passed before moving to firm up its factory contracts for next year. Given Ducati's two strongest tracks come up in that month, that isn't a coincidence.

This won't be something lost on Dovizioso as he heads forward to this weekend's Andalusian GP, where further podium success isn't certain.

What is certain, however, is the Dovizioso who will head back out on track at Jerez on Friday is very much one so far vindicating his contract demands for 2021.