With Marc Marquez winning the 2019 MotoGP title last time in Thailand, Ducati team-matesღ Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci now have their focus firmly set on finishing as 'best of the rest' in the world championship.

Dovizioso looks on course to be title runner-u꧒p for the third successive season, holding a comfortable 48-po🌃int advantage over Suzuki's Alex Rins ahead of this weekend's Japanese MotoGP.

“With the title alr♏eady assigned in Thailand, our main aim now is to hold on to second place, and this is what we’ll be fighting for in the next four races," confirmed Dovizioso.

The Italian beat Marquez for a memorable wet victory at Motegi in 2017 but fell in the closing stages last season, while agaiജn duelling with the Honda rider.

"Motegi is one of those special circuits where in the last few years we have been very competitive. Last year we missed out on the podium wh🐽ile fighting for the win, and I think that we will again be fast this year," said Dovizioso, a double race winner so far this season.

"We must continue to work hard to improve in all conditions and༺ on all tracks and we’ll be giving our all𓆉 in these last four races."

Petrucci faces great🧜er competition to achieve his goal of third in the world championship, with just five points presently covering Rins, factory Yamaha's Maverick Vinales and the Ducati riderꦇ.

"We arrive in Japan very motivated: we accumulated a lot o𒈔f useful and positive information during the weekend in Thailand and we will begin with a good base. Motegi is a better circuit for us than Buriram and we want to make the best of this situation," said Petrucci, winner at Mugell🦹o but without a top-six finish since the summer break.

"The fight for third place is really tight and if I want to achieve my aim I must do some great performances in the last GPs of the season. Already from Friday practic𒁏e we’ll be able to see what our potential is for this weekend.”

The closing rounds of the season will also decide both the Constructors’ title,♑ where Honda holds a healthy advantage, and the Teams’ championship, where Ducati is 19-points ahead of Repsol Honda.