Factory Ducati MotoGP rider and Austrian Grand Prix winner Andrea Dovizioso called his victory around the Red Bull Ring as “the best, or one of the best victories” after the Italian beat out Marc Marquez in the final corner of the race.

The Italian was involved in a race long battle from the opening lap until the final corner of the race in which he got the better of the World Champion with a last-gasp block pass in the final corner of the race.

It wasn’t the first time in which Dovizioso got the better of the Spaniard in a head-to-head battle, however, he did think it was one of the best of his MotoGP career.

“I really didn’t prepare that corner and it’s not really my corner for my style and my bike in entry there but happened a lot of things during the race and I am so happy for many things,” said the Italian when talking about the final corner move.

“It’s the best or one of my best victories because we didn’t the same speed as Marc before the race, so we need a strategy to try and stay with him.

“But the temperature change from yesterday and we took a different tyre choice and maybe that will affect. But I put everything together in the race, we start with a different set up we didn’t try, because unfortunately in the warm up it was wet, and it worked.

“I start very aggressive, but Marc was more aggressive than me, but he lose the front in the exit and I answer again in turn four, and that was very important. After when Marc overtake me, he tried to push and make a gap and his rear tyre dropped too much. At the end I have a chance to fight until the last corner as he didn’t have the same grip as me on the right, and on the braking, he was better, but with the grip I was able to stay with him and make that crazy last corner. I really didn’t prepare that, but I did in a perfect way the corner before and I was a bit inside and I thought okay, if I’m going long, I will be second, no problem, but I stopped the bike in a right way.

“I’m so happy, so happy for Ducati because we need that. We need this victory in this way, it will give us energy for the future, it’s what we need.”

Marquez said that he felt that Dovizioso was playing with him during the race, suggesting that the Ducati man had more in his pocket than he showed. When asked if that was the case, he said: “I play not with the speed, because if I had a chance to alone, I will finish alone the race.

“I play in the straight twice because if you overtake riders and you’re in front, the rider behind, especially Marc, is able to brake later and to be inside and control the brake. If I overtake the rider and stay there, I control the brake and this is what happened twice.

“I had a better grip on the right, that’s why on the last corner I was able to be faster, because at the beginning of the race I didn’t have that advantage, I was exactly the same with him about acceleration.

“The difference is his drop was bad and I was able to accelerate better. I wanted to stay like this, but in any case, I went long twice, because if brake in the same place as Marc I am a bit longer.”

With now eleven races gone in the 2019 MotoGP season, Dovizioso sits in second place, 63 points behind Marquez in the World Championship. Despite this, he said he refuses to give up on hopes of a World Championship, as unlikely as that may currently seem.

“It’s open because it's open and the result of races,” he said.

“This race on one side doesn’t change the future because Marc showed his potential in a lot of races and he was so competitive, even more so than last year. So, I expect him to be strong in every track, so I think it’s very, very difficult.

“But we are working to develop the bike. This race, we win the race, but we work so hard to improve the bike and we are constantly working on that. So, you never know what you can find. Some material will arrive in the future.

“I want to keep alive this, because it's normal and has to be like this, but to fight against Marc in this moment in a realistic way is difficult. But this doesn’t change our approach.

“We have to improve because it’s not enough to beat him, but this victory gives us a lot of energy for the future.”