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

Dovizioso l🔥ooks on course to be title runner-up for the third successive season, holding a comfortable 48-point advantage over Suzuki's Alex Rins ahead of this weekend's Japanese MotoG💞P.

“With the title already assigned in Thailand, our main aim now is to hold on to second place, and this is w൩hat 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 again du🍃elling with the Honda rider.

"Motegi iꦫs one of those special circuits where in the last few years we have been ver🐻y competitive. Last year we missed out on the podium while 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 hꦚard to improve in all conditions and on all tracks and we𒊎’ll be giving our all in these last four races."

Petrucci faces g꧂reater competition to achieve his goal of third in the world champioജnship, with just five points presently covering Rins, factory Yamaha's Maverick Vinales and the Ducati rider.

"We arrive in Japan very motivated: we accumulated a lot of 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 s💮ituation," said Petrucci, winner at Mugello 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 mu❀st do some great perform🌳ances in the last GPs of the season. Already from Friday practice 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 i💛s 19-points ahead of Repsol Honda.