Dovizioso: "There will be another test in Mugello and then we'll talk about getting a wild card"

The Italian had not ridden a MotoGP since the Portuguese Grand Prix last year, his last race with Ducati before taking a sabbatical, as he himself described the 2021 season, in which he did not find an accommodation to his liking to remain active. .

This week, at the Jerez Circuit , Andrea Dovizioso has faced three days of testing at the handlebars of the RS-GP 2021 , and after his first experience with this bike he offered his impressions, which cooled any possibility of seeing him again soon on the grid of the queen class

Dovizioso explained that he will do a new test with the Noale brand on May 11 and 12, and the door is not closed to reappearing as a wild card with Aprilia this year, although his main goal right now is to prepare to return to the class. queen in 2022.

“When you change the bike after eight years, it’s a big change. So the first and most important thing is to find the position on it. That is the main point and it takes time because it is related to being comfortable, but you also have to understand what is the best position for you and the best position for the bike because each one has a different characteristic”, Dovi introduced.

“We spent a lot of time on it and it was impossible to fix it in three days, unfortunately today it was very windy and we couldn’t ride. We did a few laps in the morning, but not as many as I wanted, unfortunately,” he added.

Despite the difficulties, it was a great experience for Dovizioso to drive again.

“It is very nice for a rider to try another bike because everyone would like to be able to try all the MotoGP bikes, just to have the feeling of understanding a little more what you see on television or on the track. So it was very nice and emotional because after eight years getting on a different bike, it was very nice”.

The proposal to do a test came from those responsible for Aprilia, who last year could not convince Dovizioso to sign for the Noale team. However, the pilot has now agreed to do this test.

“I accepted because I still have a passion for MotoGP and I would like to race next year. So I think it was smart to be on the track and I am very happy that Aprilia gave me the possibility to do it and in the right way. It was not easy to say no and everything was organized immediately.

After this first contact, Dovizioso did not want to deepen the analysis of the Aprilia .

“It’s a bit difficult to answer because you can immediately feel the difference to the bikes you’ve raced on in the past. But understanding the details is very difficult because you have to push very hard and you have to be comfortable on the bike to understand many details, because I think that every MotoGP rider is capable of being fast and being quite close to the fastest. But being there and fighting for important lap times is a different story, and to do that you need the right position and that takes time.”

Despite everything, Dovizioso wanted to leave a positive message after the test: “Like all bikes, it has positive and negative aspects and this is normal. But I had very good feelings”.

After this first experience, the Italian admitted that the collaboration with Aprilia will continue.

“I think we will do another test because we want to work a little more on the position of the bike and that is the key to testing other things and it takes time. So we will organize another training, maybe in Mugello in a month or so. This is the plan”.

Options aside, they asked him if he would like to go out as a wild card this year, something he did not rule out, although he claims to be focused on preparing to return to the MotoGP grid in 2022.

“We haven’t talked about it right now. We immediately realized that it was nice and correct to do this test, that it would make sense to do another one on a different track, like Mugello. That’s what’s going to happen. After that test maybe we’ll go eat a good steak and we’ll talk about it, but at the moment there’s nothing planned, I’m still focused on trying to see my future”, settled Dovizioso in reference to the next season.

Andrea Dovizioso, Aprilia