Andrea Dovizioso says having his future with Ducati sewn up at the fifth round of the 2018 MotoGP season means he can now focus exclusively on his title challenge.
Ducati confirmed prior to Friday's second practice for the French Grand Prix that it had come to an agreement with Dovizioso, which will see him extend his stay with the Italian marque through to the end of 2020.
Dovizioso won six races last season on his way to runner-up spot in the standings, giving Ducati its first real title tilt since Casey Stoner's 2007 championship-winning season.
Though reportedly rejecting his initial offer, while also being linked to a return to Honda, it was expected Dovizioso remaining with Ducati would be a formality.
Ending Friday's running at Le Mans top of the timesheets, Dovizioso says removing the distraction of contract negotiations means he can now focus fully on his championship challenge.
“I'm really happy about today, about the confirmation of our contract for the future,” Dovizioso told motogp.com.
“I'm really happy to be in this situation now, and to be confirmed in this moment for the championship.
“I think we have to gain some points [back after Jerez DNF], and now everything is fixed we can think about the championship and try to be on the podium in every race.”
The second seat at Ducati is still up for grabs, as Jorge Lorenzo's future with the team remains uncertain as rumours of a move to Suzuki gather momentum.
When asked if he had a say in who joins him next year, Dovizioso said: “No, about that, it's not my style.
“I don't think about that, this is the job of Ducati and they have to make the best decision for everything, for the future. But I'm relaxed with everybody [as a teammate].”
Friday at Le Mans confirms aero gain
Dovizioso has been using Ducati's aerodynamic fairing throughout the previous two race weekends, something he rarely did when it was first introduced midway through last year.
Running in the podium places at Jerez while using the fairing before retiring in the incident involving himself, Lorenzo and Honda's Dani Pedrosa, Dovizioso “expected” the aero package to give him a boost at Le Mans.
“We start in the right way today, and this afternoon we improve a little bit the bike, and my riding was good,” he said.
"So we did a good pace, and in the end when I put in a new tyre I did a good lap. So everything is coming in a good way, I'm really happy. But a lot of riders have a good pace.
“I think the fairing affect our speed here. Compared to last year, this is the biggest change [with the bike] and how I expected after Jerez, the fairing can help very well in this track, can help us a lot.
“So this confirms it. It's always difficult, because every race you have to take a decision to use or not use, and is strange to work with the kind of set-up, but it's positive to have.”
