Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso said he is refusing to give up on the MotoGP World Championship, despite now sitting 37 points behind Marc Marquez after being taken out of the Catalan Grand Prix by Jorge Lorenzo at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Italian was one of three victims when Lorenzo attempted to overtake Maverick Vinales into turn ten on the second lap. Lorenzo’s Honda smashed into the side of Dovizioso, collecting Vinales and Valentino Rossi along the way.

When asked what happened in his view, Dovizioso said: “What happened is very clear. Lorenzo was in a good position, he had a good pace and he wanted to stay in front.

“He then made a big mistake in a corner that it’s easy to do it. It was a small mistake that became big. It’s not a huge mistake, braking in that corner is complicated, even when you’re alone, because there are no clear references.

“Lorenzo took the inside and you can’t have an error, he had to that there were four riders in front of him. It was not a big mistake, but it was due to too much enthusiasm.”

Dovizioso said that he felt like he had the pace to challenge at the front of the race if he hadn’t been taken out by his former team-mate.

“I’m disappointed because today I had the chance to fight with Marc for the win. I had a good start,” he said.

“I was in the right position and I was preparing the tyres to start pushing.”

Now 37 points behind Marc Marquez in the World Championship, when asked if he thought that it was season over already, Dovizioso was defiant, insisting that it’s far from over, even if it has been made much more difficult.

“If I thought so, I wouldn’t race the next few races,” said Dovizioso.

“We’re strong and anything can still happen, although I know that when Marc has a great advantage it’s not easy to recover. Before today I was close to him, I could bring him to the limit and put pressure on him.

“Now the situation is different. This crash is a bad blow in the championship, I won’t lie, now Marquez can manage to advantage.”