Dovizioso 'more confident' about tyres

Andrea Dovizioso is a "little bit more confident" about the performance of his Michelin tyres ahead of this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix

The French manufacturer endured a torrid time at the Czech Grand Prix two weeks ago, on the back of a poor performance also in the previous race at Laguna Seca.

Dovizioso was the best Michelin rider in the Brno race, finishing down in ninth position in an event dominated by Bridgestone runners.

But the JiR Scot rider says Michelin has been working very hard to solve its problems and he is facing his home race in a more confident mood.

"We knew before the start in Brno that it was very difficult, but I tried to do the maximum and my target was to finish as the first Michelin rider," Dovizioso said at Misano on Thursday.

"Anyway, Michelin worked 100% and we are a little bit more confident here than in Brno."

The Italian, fifth in the championship in his debut season, believes he should be able to be competitive this weekend if the tyres perform well.

"We weren't lucky last year but we were very fast before the engine broke. It's a slow track so I think we can go quite fast, but we need to wait to see how the tyres work."