Dovizioso now 'closer' to fresh MotoGP deal with Ducati

Last year's championship runner-up is known to have been pressuring Ducati to reward him for his 2017 performances, and even rejected the Italian marque's initial 2019/20 offer.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Le Mans race, Dovizioso suggested an agreement may now be close to being reached - but noted there were "some details" still to be resolved.

"We are a bit closer than before," said the Italian. "The situation improved in the last few days and I am happy because I had a lot of support from a lot of people in a lot of areas.

"This is really good, really positive for me. We still see some remaining details, my manager will arrive tonight [and] we will continue to speak about that."

Dovizioso's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo admitted he had "nothing new" to report on his future, but was buoyed by his form at Jerez and believes a repeat in the upcoming races could strengthen his position.

The Spaniard led a race for the first time this year at Jerez and was set in contention for a podium before he was involved in a three-way collision with Dovizioso and Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.

"In the circumstances, with not such a good feeling I had in the first few races with the bike and the bad luck we have in Jerez, we couldn't demonstrate our true potential and the positions we deserve," said Lorenzo.

"So let's hope that at these three tracks [Le Mans, Mugello and Barcelona] we can make these results happen and then be in a better position to negotiate.

"The priority is trying to finish what I started, so I have confidence in Ducati that we'll have a bike that fits better in the future to my riding and I could be as competitive as in the past.

"It's a two-part thing and both parties must be willing to continue, so let's see. This a sport where just one, two or three good results [means] that everything is seen in different colours."

Lorenzo's other option besides remaining at Ducati is a switch to Suzuki, where he would replace Andrea Iannone alongside the now re-signed Alex Rins.

Iannone is understood to have attracted interest from both Aprilia and Pramac Ducati, and indicated his future is likely to be resolved in "a few days".