Andrea Dovizioso had a more difficult race at Aragon after winning back-to-back and then taking a podium at Misano, with MotorLand a more difficult track for the team and a lack of dry track time making the job tougher.

But P7 was the best the Italian could do and he kept it on the road for more points, now 16 down on Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) at the top of the table but some good venues on the horizon - especially Motegi and Sepang.

"It was a complicated weekend and my race was a tough one." Said the Ducati rider "At the start I tried to stay with the leading group, but unfortunately I didn’t have many cards to play: for sure not being able to do many laps on Friday complicated the situation because we knew this wasn’t an easy track for us and that we needed more time to work."

"I don’t think that opting for the soft rear tyre was a mistake, and the drop in performance towards the end of the race in my opinion is due to other factors, seeing as I was losing a lot in some parts of the track."

"Pity about my seventh place but, given the conditions, it was the best I could do today." Added The Italian "There are still a lot of points at stake in the next four races and so we’ll try and make the best of the next opportunities."