Andrea Dovizioso returns full-time in 2022 alongside the RFN Yamaha Team, the team that takes over from Petronas in MotoGP. Having spent much of last year on sabbatical after leaving Ducati, Dovizioso is set to contest the longest season in MotoGP history. With 21 races, 2022 starts from March 4 with the first free practice in Qatar.
“This weekend is always a bit difficult because it’s the first round and there’s always a lot of tension between everyone,” Dovizioso said in response to Motorsport.com.
As usual, the tests held in Losail enjoy a night character. However, FP1 and FP3 will take place during the day, while the rest of the race will be in the evening, which will mean radically different track conditions.
“I don’t agree with the practice times, but it’s something we already talked about in the past, because some drivers pushed a lot to race as soon as possible [in Qatar] due to the humidity.”
“I think for us, this new schedule is too early, and we can’t really work over the weekend. FP1 and FP3 would be useless. You just get on the bike because you have to ride, but you can’t work because the conditions are very different”.
Adding to this situation is the fact that there were no pre-season tests at the Losail International Circuit this year, which means the time for the drivers to gather information is limited.
Having won the Qatar GP twice in the past, Dovizioso is “very happy” to be back but doesn’t know if he can “be really competitive”.
“I can be competitive, but I don’t know how much, it’s very difficult to know,” he explained. “So I will approach the weekend however I can, also because we don’t know the track situation and that will affect all of us.”
“I am really focused on what I have to be, and then we will see our situation and our position,” concluded the Italian.
