MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso does it again, wins CatalanGP a week after Mugello triumph

A week after his maiden win of the season at Autodromo del Mugello in Italy, Ducati Team's Andrea Dovizioso took an incredible second win in the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya in Spain on Sunday afternoon. The 31-year-old Italian rider has become the first Ducati rider to take back-to-back wins since two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner achieved the feat in 2010.

Also read: Ducati Team's Andrea Dovizioso wins ItalianGP ahead of MotoGP leader Vinales

Reigning champion and Repsol Honda Team rider, Marc Marquez, finished the Catalan GP ahead of his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, who started the race in pole position. Marquez, who crashed four times in qualifying on Saturday, had a delightful weekend with P2 finish.

Starting off well from row three, Dovizioso crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in third, and he moved up to second on lap 8 after passing his teammate Lorenzo and then Marquez. Andrea kept race leader Pedrosa on toe till lap 17. Desmo Dovi (nickname of Dovizioso) then attacked his Spanish rival to take the lead, which he maintained until the chequered flag and finishing with a gap of more than three and a half seconds over Marquez.

"I'm so happy but also a bit surprised by this win! I had a great feeling before the start because I knew that we could be very competitive, not because we were the fastest out there on the track, but because yesterday we worked well to prepare for the race," said Dovizioso.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), and Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) have finished the race from fourth to seventh respectively.

Valentino Rossi came home in eighth, Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) took P9, and Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) made it to the flag in tenth, taking a big hit on his points lead in the Championship.

Vinales retained his lead in the championship with 111 points, seven points ahead of Dovizioso and 23 ahead of Marquez. Now the paddock heads for Netherlands for the Motul TT Assen on June 25.