Starting from ninth on the grid, Dovi stormed forward during the inaugural night race, reaching fifth by lap 4 of 22. The JiR Team Scot rider maintained that position right until the very last lap, when he dived inside Rossi at the hairpin.
The struggling five-times
MotoGP world champion had rebuffed an earlier challenge, but this time Dovizioso made it stick - and crossed the finish line as the top Italian, and leading satellite rider, during his first ever premier-class race.
"I'm very emotional for this first race," admitted Andrea. "I never thought I would be so quick to finish so near the front and also become the first Italian rider home, which is great!
"Immediately after the start I pushed hard and tried to concentrate on the job in front, I was aiming at the train of riders just in front of me. Perhaps I asked a little too much of my Michelin tyre combination which behaved very well in the race.
"I want to thank the team for the fantastic job that they did over the weekend. We struggled a little in qualifying, but came out in a very good way when it was time for the race. We have shown that we are ready to do well in MotoGP with Honda and I look forward to the next race," he added.
"We couldn't have really made a better debut and Andrea's last lap shows his determination!" said a delighted Gianluca Montiron, team director of JiR Team Scot. "His fighting spirit, which showed that our rider puts all his personality on the bike, shows we're going to increase and do even better in the next races as our motivation increases."
