Dovizioso: Podium charge stifled by arm pump

Andrea Dovizioso felt was left to rue arm pump problems as the Ducati rider saw his hopes of a rostrum finish at Mugello fade as Sunday's race progressed.

Dovizioso made a brilliant start from 15th place on the GP16 to slot into third as he gave chase to Movistar Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

However, the Italian was unable to maintain his pace and was caught by team-mate Andrea Iannone and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa in the final part of the race, eventually finishing in fifth place.

"I am happy about the start because I did a great start and a great first lap, so I am happy because I did what I had to do," Dovi said.

"I was in the right position and the first half of the race was really good, but still I'm not smooth on the bike and I feel too much energy and I have the problem of arm pump, so I wasn't able to push the lap time.

"Mugello is one of the hardest tracks and when you have the arm pump you can't be aggressive in the braking, but especially to stay on the limit, front and rear: the grip today was really low because the temperature today was really hot," he added.

"I tried everything I could in the last eight laps but I went wide in turn 1 and I wasn't precise. Unfortunately I couldn't use my speed so I'm so sorry for the team."

Dovizioso feels a rostrum was well within his reach and has taken the positives from the weekend ahead of the next round at Catalunya in Spain, although he is still seeking a set-up that will make the Desmosedici easier to ride.

"The weekend started very bad but practice by practice we improved the situation and also in the warm-up we improved a little bit," he said.

"We had the pace to fight for the podium and in MotoGP I think it is something nice, but anyway I finished fifth and the positive thing is we finished the race and for sure we had the possibility to finish on the podium.

"My feeling with the bike is good, we are fast and we are able to improve practice by practice. I am happy about how we worked during the weekend but I think we need something from the bike to be easier, not faster, but easier," he added.

"This is my objective for the future because we have the speed, which is really good, but we need something in a few areas to really stay there in many races, not just in one race like Qatar."

His fifth row start made life difficult for Dovizioso but he had taken heart from his performance on the opening laps.

"For sure to start in front and start with them makes a difference because you can manage everything for 23 laps," he said.

"But I started very back and I was nervous about that, so in the first five laps I had to push a lot and [try] not to lose the first three riders.

"Like I said, we have good potential but now we have to be focused to have the same speed in an easy way.

"I struggle with arm pump for a lot of years but sometimes it is big, sometimes not so big and you can manage: the difference is always how fast you are and especially how smooth you are."