Andrea Dovizioso will reappear this weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix after being without a team since November last year. The Italian rider was officially confirmed this Thursday by Yamaha to ride with Petronas SRT , the satellite formation, in which he will take the place of Franco Morbidelli , who in turn will be promoted to the official team and also reappears in Misano after a knee injury. left, after signing with the Japanese brand until the end of 2023 .
Dovizioso will have, until the end of the season, the bike assigned to Morbidelli and which, after his injury, has been used by up to three substitute riders, Garrett Gerloff , Cal Crutchlow and Jake Dixon , a model based on the 2019 M1 with B specifications.
Next season, Dovizioso will have an official factory bike in the Malaysian team, after the agreement reached with the directors of Yamaha, according to the official statement.
“Racing with Yamaha has always been my dream, and that’s why when the opportunity came I didn’t think twice, even though I know it’s going to be a difficult challenge for me”, explains Dovizioso .
“I have a lot of things to learn: a new bike, a new team, a new work system. It’s a great challenge that starts in Misano, my home Grand Prix. This makes it even more exciting,” added the Italian. the note.
“We are delighted to have a MotoGP star and talent like Andrea join the Yamaha line-up. We warmly welcome the Yamaha MotoGP group as a very important member of our MotoGP program,” said Lin Jarvis , director of Yamaha, in the note.
“We have encountered unprecedented circumstances this year that have been problematic with the riders, something totally unexpected for both Yamaha teams. We experienced some unforeseen and unfortunate events, but we have been able to transform problems into new opportunities”, says the Briton.
“Andrea has been out of MotoGP for a short sabbatical, but we are confident that a rider of his caliber will soon get his speed back. We are very much looking forward to working with him as a member of the Yamaha satellite team, and we will support him in any way we can.”
With Dovizioso’s official announcement, those responsible for the Petronas SRT team – which will lose the sponsorship of the oil company at the end of the season as well as the support of the Sepang Circuit , forming a completely new team – must decide who will be the second driver to accompany the Italian. At the moment there is no solid candidate for the position, although there is a possibility that the current rider of the Malaysian structure in Moto3, Darryn Binder, makes the jump directly from the small class to the premier class.
