Andrea Dovizioso sees the upcoming Catalunya MotoGP as a vital part of his season with Ducati as he focuses on ramping up world title challenge.

After losing out in the last-lap battle in Mugello to both Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci and reigning champion Marc Marquez, Dovizioso remains in strong form with consecutive podiums to his name heading to Circuit de Catalunya.

With Ducati taking the last two wins at the Barcelona circuit, Dovizioso naturally expects to be fighting for victory to emulate his 2017 feat with the circuit sharing characteristics to Mugello which plays to the strengths of the GP19.

“Ducati won the last two GPs at the Montmelo track, and I'm confident we’ll be competitive in the race this weekend as well, even though track temperatures will be a decisive factor,” Dovizioso said. “Weather forecast says it will be hot, so both the performance and the correct management of the tyres will make the difference.

“We’re going through a crucial phase of the season and we need to keep scoring as many points as possible.”

Despite his optimism, Dovizioso has repeated his call for Ducati to step up its corner speed which it currently lacks compared to its rivals - concern he's long-held with his MotoGP machine.

“We’re working well, we’ve been on the podium twice in a row but we need to keep improving our corner speed to be competitive in all kinds of circuits,” he said.

Dovizioso slipped to 12 points behind Marquez at the top of the MotoGP riders’ standings following the Italian round.