Andrea Dovizioso has said that he is confident he can continue his good run of form after finishing the first day of MotoGP free practice fastest around the Twin Ring Motegi.

The Italian topped FP1 with a time of 1:45.358, which was 0.105 seconds ahead of Cal Crutchlow and 0.140 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez. Dovizioso said that he felt good on the bike today and chose to sit out of FP2 due to the mixed conditions.

“We’ve started in a good way,” said the 32-year-old.

“The feeling on the bike was good this morning. There is something to improve, but the bike’s working well at this track. We worked a little bit on the tyres but unfortunately this afternoon we didn't have the conditions to ride in the dry.

“Overall I’m happy about this start to the weekend. It’s not enough for the race but I think we are in a good way.”

After rain in the middle of the day, the Italian elected to sit out the afternoon session, limiting his practice time. With three heavy braking zones, Dovizioso said he still has to work on the braking on his GP18 if he is to challenge for the victory this weekend in Japan.

“At this track it’s the braking, we need a little bit more stability on the brakes,” he said.

“The acceleration is not bad but we have to work to save the tyre. To be fast here is about the braking.”