Andrea Dovizܫioso was unfazed by his showing in MotoGP qualifying at Losail after failing to translate his dominance over the first race weekend of 2018 into an all-out, explosive lap time.

Instead of focussing on his pe𒆙rܫformance in Q2, the Italian retained the air of quiet confidence that has come to define his public interactions of late, pointing to the importance of adhering to strategy in Sunday’s 22-lap affair.

2017’s runner-up could place no higher than fifth in MotoGP qualifying 🀅;after attempting to find suitable space on track to lap🙈 the 3.3-mile Losail International Circuit alone. “I didn’t prepare in a perfect way the last lap,” he conceded.

Yet that wasn’t the focus. Dovizioso’s pace in FP4 showcased his potential, and his response to a question regarding h♔is position as a pre-race favourite acted as an insܫight into his thoughts on tomorrow.

“Well, maybe,” he said 💖through a wry grin when pressed on whether he goes into Sunday as the man to beat. “I hope so!” Is there more pressure to win after placing second here for three years running? Another grin: “It deꦺpends which way you want to see it,” he smiled. “I think it’s positive. It means we are fast here.”

Referencing his performance in Q2, the Italian said, “I slowed down because a lot of rid꧋ers were in the middle of the traꦬck. I didn’t prepare in a perfect way the last lap – [it’s] nothing.

“I think we have a good pace. We go into 𒈔the race with a really good confidence but it’s very, very difficult to understand th෴e pace of the competitor.

““It looks like too many riders have a good pace with the used tyres and the new tyre. I don’t think it 𝄹will be the reality for the 22 laps but it’s difficult to understand who is in a b🏅etter situation.

“For sure because it’s a track everybody knows, the energy and the consumption of the tyres makes a big effect every race, but here a lot. The strategy will be very important 🎀tomorrow for everybody for sure.”

A characteristic of th🌺at splendid title challenge six months ago was the 31-year old’s ability to manage races at will and emerge from multi-rider scraps ahead when explosive pace wasn’t necessarily evident.

On whether he felt this experience in races ✤through 2017, including Mugello, Barce𝔉lona and Silverstone would be key tomorrow, he added, "Maybe. I mean, the first race is always crazy.

“In Qatar it’s always a crazy race. It depends a lot on the brain of the competitor so it’s not easy to manage th♌is situation. But I feel good. We have to be smart and manage the situation in the best way.”