Is the real Dovizioso back after Austria MotoGP practice?

When the coronavirus-delayed 2020 MotoGP calendar was revealed, a triple-header of Brno and two Red Bull Ring races made for pretty reading if you were a Ducati rider.

Having finished second in the Czech Republic last year, winning in 2018 and notching up two Red Bull Ring victories in 2017 and 2019, Andrea Dovizioso had more reason than most to be cheerful. Even without the absence of Marc Marquez, it looked like the pendulum had swung in his favour in the 2020 title race.

All he had to do was get through the Jerez double-header (two races at a track before this year he'd never stood on the podium at) not too bloodied and - as the mighty Scorpions preached - the good times would roll after the bad times had gone.

Yet, Brno was an eye-opener. Dovizioso was a career-worst 18th in qualifying and was over 10 seconds from the victory in a lowly 11th - a far cry from the second-place he was battling comfortably for in the Czech GP 12 months ago.

Dovizioso has made no secret of the problems Michelin's new construction rear tyre has caused him. The new tyre offers better grip and durability, but it has tripped up several riders - chiefly Dovizioso, team-mate Danilo Petrucci and the Honda riders. Even Pramac's Jack Miller suffered with it at Brno, having typically been the happiest on the rubber.

Dovizoso is finding the added rear grip isn't allowing him to slide the rear of the bike as he'd like on the way into the corners. So that means he can't get the GP20 turned, sapping him of corner speed and ultimately knocking his exit speeds.

But his problems were put more into focus by Johann Zarco - the Avintia rider racing the bike Dovizioso won twice on last season - scoring pole at Brno and putting his motorcycle onto the third step of the podium.

Dovizioso reasoned last week that this is likely down to Zarco not having ridden last year's Ducati on last year's tyres, so he has no data to fall back on and ultimately steer him astray - as Dovizioso has been finding out whenever he has tried to use past data to help.

Friday at the Austrian GP was a "half day" - as Valentino Rossi described it - owing to FP2 being heavily affected by a rain burst wetting only a handful of corners.

But in the fully dry FP1, Dovizioso looked much happier. Straight away he shot to the sharp end of the timesheets, and ended up 0.044 seconds off the pace of Pol Espargaro on the KTM (who tested at Red Bull Ring on his RC16 in June). Zarco was over four tenths back in the standings in sixth. Normal order, or so it seems, has been restored.

But where has this apparent turnaround come from?

"We studied a lot after Brno and we approached the weekend... we changed the set-up, especially my way to brake had to change, and helped me a lot to come back with a good feeling in braking" Andrea Dovizioso

Some have theorised that the special tyre construction Michelin has brought to Red Bull Ring to cope with the soaring temperatures the tyre generates has given him a boost. When Autosport asked LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow about this, he said it didn't feel much different to the normal 2020 tyre, while Michelin itself said the tyre is "derived" from the 2020 construction.

Dovizioso cleared this up, stating: "I think there is wrong information about the rear tyre; the tyre is not like the tyre of last year.

"Every time we come here to Austria, Michelin created a new casing... I mean they adapted the casing of the season to this track to make the race because the consumption is really high and they have to make some change to be consistent.

"But the soft and medium are made to the casing of the season. The hard tyre, it's made with the old casing from last year. But the rubber of the hard tyre, nobody tried it last year and I think nobody will try this weekend. The way you have to ride is the same as the other tracks [this year]."

Dovizioso's gains have come from studying the data from Brno and implementing small changes to the bike to allow him to adapt his braking style slightly. After the Brno race, the Italian said his deficit in this area to the other Ducati riders was "unacceptable".

Dovizioso admits he and Ducati "didn't really change the bike much", and it's similar to Brno - it's just that their understanding of how to brake with the 2020 tyre has changed. The straight-braking zones of the Red Bull Ring have also played into his hands, with not so much sliding on the rear needed to corner in Austria.

"We studied a lot after Brno and we approached the weekend... we changed the set-up, especially my way to brake had to change, and helped me a lot to come back with a good feeling in braking," Dovizioso added.

"And that was the point. It was a good feeling and happy to feel that. For sure, the track helped me because it's a straight braking [zone]. And more or less everywhere is like that, but I was able to be consistent, not just have a good speed."

But he concedes that truly explaining his gains under braking is "very difficult", because he reckons "with Michelin [tyres] you have to do some more work than with some other brands - small things in your riding style can have a big effect".

With only one dry session on Friday and on a green surface, not too much can be read into Dovizioso's pace. But a seven-lap run on a medium rear tyre that had already completed seven tours beforehand does hint towards this new-found consistency.

Dovizioso's FP1 run: soft front (used - 7 laps), medium rear (used - 7 laps)

• 1m26.311s
• 1m26.714s
• 1m25.181s
• 1m25.098s
• 1m25.753s
• 1m25.073s
• 1m24.826s

Pacesetter Espargaro did four laps in a row on the same rear tyre, his pace low-mid 1m25s with a 1m24.685s thrown in for good measure.

Dovizioso believes he has a "big chance to be a contender" for the victory this weekend - and by rights next weekend too in the Styrian GP, if the form carryover from the Spanish to Andalusian GPs at Jerez is anything to go by. But he is wary this year that the traditional two-rider victory battle of previous years is unlikely to be the case again, with the improved acceleration of some of the bikes around him (most notably, the now race-winning KTM) a factor to consider.

"After one practice, there are four with good pace," he added. "But one practice is nothing. So tomorrow, if we will have a dry session, a lot of things can change and some other riders can fight with us for sure. And I think in this track, the competitors [have] become a bit stronger in acceleration compared to the past.

"So, I think in the race it won't be not anymore one or two or three riders [fighting at the front] like in the past. But anyway, I'm there, we have our chance, our cards [to play]. We have to work on the pace a bit more, especially with the tyre because they the tyre is different."

On Friday, Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi confirmed to Spanish television that Ducati's decision on Dovizioso for 2021 will be taken after next weekend's Styrian GP. Ducati had previously said it was pausing contract talks until August - conveniently until after the two strongest circuits on paper for Ducati are out the way.

If Ducati's decision on Dovizioso is based on what has happened after just five races in 2020 and not on what he achieved in the past three years, it would be fairly cruel - but it's a possibility nevertheless.

The importance of this weekend's Austrian GP then, as well as he brushes it off, will surely not be lost on Dovizioso. But at least - at this early stage anyway - Dovizioso looks to be back where he belongs.