Misano.- The sabbatical year ended in the most abrupt way for Dovi , who will rejoin the World Championship this weekend as part of the Sepang Racing Team (SRT) and as Valentino Rossi ‘s fifth teammate this season.
After spending six months competing in motocross races, his other great passion, the man from Forli will have five grand prix to win the Yamaha , the bike he already raced with in 2012 , even though he did it then within the Tech3 satellite structure . When that exercise ended, Dovi was unable to promote the official line-up of the tuning fork brand as it bet on the return of Rossi from Ducati , and signed for the Italian manufacturer, with whom he was linked for eight seasons and with whom he was proclaimed runner-up up to three times.
“Already in 2013, after a good year in a satellite team, my dream was to be an official Yamaha rider. That did not happen and that was still there, in my mind. Having that possibility, after eight years in the same team, led me to try it”, acknowledged Dovi.
“I don’t want to say that with this bike I will be the best, but, as a rider, you have your idea of what the ideal bike is. The risk is greater than the chances of success. But I don’t care, I take that risk without problems”, continued the new SRT runner.
At 35 years old, the one from Forli will be the oldest member of the grid once his new workshop neighbor hangs up his overalls after crossing the finish line in the last test of this 2021, in Valencia . Apart from jumping around the motocross tracks, the Italian also carried out several training sessions with Aprilia , which, however, did not convince him to sign with a view to 2022, before Maverick Viñales did.
“I had the opportunity to do several tests with Aprilia and I think it was positive for both parties. But I knew what he wanted. In the end, the opportunity arose”, reflected Dovizioso, freeing himself from any pressure related to the results he is capable of achieving in the five races on this calendar in which he will take part:
“The pressure doesn’t worry me because I don’t have to fight for the World Cup or for results. The important thing about our agreement is that he had an official motorcycle for next year and with factory support”, he reveals.
Ramón Forcada will be its track engineer in 2022
One of the mysteries that Dovizioso revealed during his press conference this Thursday in Misano is that next year he will continue with Ramón Forcada as track engineer, which means that after two and a half years of absolute harmony, the Morbidelli-Forcada tandem has played to its end.
“This year’s team will be the same as next year’s. Everyone speaks highly of Ramón and he is a coach who has been world champion several times. He has a lot of experience, especially with this bike, and that’s why it’s the perfect situation for me”, confessed the ex-ducatista.
Another of the caroms associated with Dovi’s arrival at Yamaha is that he will be Rossi ‘s teammate for the first time in the World Championship.
“I can’t wait to start, because Valentino is Valentino. We have always crossed paths, even in terms of changing bikes, but unfortunately we have never played for a championship. Every year he won, I was third or fourth, but I never disputed it. In the years that I was in the fight, he was also third or fourth, but without being in the fight until the last race. It’s a shame, because I would have liked that duel. Nothing important is at stake in these five races, but I am sure he will want to enjoy them and I will also try to do my best, having the luck of being his teammate. And then I am curious, because when you experience it from inside the box it is always different from what you perceive or think from the outside”.
