The End of an Era – Dovi and Ducati

Recently at the Red Bull Ring, we got the news that long-time Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso will be parting ways with the Bologna-based factory at the end of the year. At the beginning of 2013 Dovizioso joined the factory Ducati team and since then has, without a doubt, been the most successful rider for Ducati.

The Italian made his way into the premier class in 2008 and overtime rode for both Honda and Yamaha. Dovi proved to be a capable rider on both machines and was quickly snapped up by the Factory Ducati team as soon as he became available.

When Dovizioso joined Ducati, they were nowhere near as competitive as they were in the days of Casey Stoner. Over time, Dovi helped to develop the Bologna bullet and the bike became better and better until the two were a winning combination.

Now, after what will be 8 years at the end of 2020, the fairy tale is coming to an end and Andrea has opened up about his reasons for parting with the Italian giant. The Italian said in a recent interview that this kind of situation can often be “very difficult” but says it wasn’t difficult for him because that’s how things go in motorsport. Dovizioso said that this “wasn’t an overnight decision” but rather It had been coming for a while. He goes on to say that working with Ducati is great because they have a lot of smart people, but often found it difficult and fought with the team as they had different ideas about the direction of development. 

Dovizioso makes it clear that he is happy about the job that he has done for Ducati and doesn’t feel like he has to stay to prove a point. On the other hand, he also says that just to be in MotoGP is not enough and that he wants to always be fighting for the title. Dovi goes on to say that at the moment he has “no plans” but also says “For sure I will have something in the future”. For now, Dovi is relaxed about the future and is fully focused on the championship, which let’s not forget he could win this year and be a world champion without a ride come 2021 – crazy to think. 

Andrea then goes on to speak about the issues he has faced this year. He speaks about the fact that they are struggling with this year’s tyres and he has had to adapt the way in which he rides the Desmosedici. Lastly, Dovi speaks about the absence of current world champion Marc Marquez and says “Marc or no Marc it’s always very hard”

Heading into the Misano 2 race meeting, Dovi was leading the championship (at the time we type this) and added more fuel to the flame by having “Unemployed” put on the back of his leathers, replacing the famous Undaunted. Having watched the Undaunted documentary many times it’s clear for all to see that Dovi and Ducati, more so Gigi Dall’Igna, have a toxic relationship, and to be honest there were many, including ourselves, who knew this split was coming. The big questions now are where does he go, and will he have the number 1 plate with him in 2021?

Andrea Dovizioso has been a fixture in the premier class paddock since 2008 and admittedly it would be weird to see a MotoGP grid without the Famous “04” lined up along with the other riders. Only time will tell what happens to Mr. Undaunted, or should we say Mr. Unemployed…