Andrea Dovizioso says his lowly position after Friday's MotoGP running in Argentina was down to him seeing no point in risking a crash in the tricky conditions in FP2 for “mediocre laptimes”.
The Ducati rider was eighth fastest after FP1, but was 3.6 seconds off of Marc Marquez in FP2 in last place, leaving him 15th overall on the combined timesheets.
Despite struggling with a lack of feeling on his GP18, Dovizioso is adamant his Friday pace is unrepresentative.
“Our position in today's FP2 session doesn't represent the real situation, so I don't think there is that much to worry about,” he said.
“In the afternoon we came across some rather strange track conditions and I didn't have a good feeling with the bike, so I didn't do many laps and finished the session quite far behind.
“However, we've got some ideas about what happened, and we're not in such a bad position as it might seem.
“As I said, my feeling with the bike wasn't the best and when the situation is like that it makes no sense to take risks in order to set mediocre times.
“Let's hope we have at least one dry session tomorrow to be able to put together all the little details that can change our situation.”
Dovizioso admits his struggles at Termas de Rio Honda do not come as a surprise, as it is similar to how it has been in previous years.
“It's very similar as in the past,” he added.
“It's very difficult for us this track, the layout, the grip we have, everybody have, my riding style.
“Today we found a few negative things together and I didn't really have the feeling. But in the afternoon there was a big wind and it was even harder.
“But I think we have to be calm and study every detail, because I think if we can put a few details together we will be in the front.”
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