Andrea Dovizioso retires from MotoGP
Andrea Dovizioso has ended his long and distinguished career in grand prix racing, choosing this year’s San Marino Grand Prix at Misano to make his exit after 20 years in the sport.
Riding for the WithU Yamaha RNF satellite team (formerly Petronas SRT Yamaha) this year, the 36-year-old Italian announced back in July that the 2022 MotoGP season would be his last, then declared in August that, rather than see out the whole season, his final race would be at his home grand prix of San Marino on 4 September – the same venue where he made his return to racing last year after a brief sabbatical. San Marino is also where Dovizioso had his very first grand prix start as a wildcard.
Dovizioso had been out of MotoGP since the end of the 2020 season after failing to secure a new contract with the Ducati factory team he had ridden for since 2013. The Italian’s intention at the time was to make a return to the premier class, after a year away, if the right project came up.
Following some testing for Aprilia, that “right project” presented itself when the messy bust-up between Maverick Vinales and the Yamaha Monster Energy team part-way through the 2021 season saw Petronas SRT Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli elevated to the factory team. With the second Petronas seat available, Dovizioso signed a deal to ride the satellite team’s YZR-M1 for the remainder of 2021 and the 2022 MotoGP season.
Although Dovizioso had experience on the M1 dating back to 2012 with Tech3 Yamaha (scoring six podium finishes back then), the results of his Yamaha return were well below expectations. He never finished inside the top ten last year and his best result this year was eleventh.
Clearly, Dovizioso was unable to come to terms with the current-spec M1, a fact he made clear in his retirement announcement on 4 August.
“I have never felt comfortable with the bike, and I have not been able to make the most of its potential despite the precious and continuous help from the team and the whole of Yamaha,” Dovizioso said.
“The results were negative, but beyond that, I still consider it a very important life experience. When there are so many difficulties, you need to have the ability to manage the situation and your emotions well.
“We did not reach the desired objectives, but the consultations with the Yamaha technicians and with those of my team have always been positive and constructive, both for them and for me. The relationship remained loyal and professionally interesting even in the most critical moments: it was not so obvious that that would happen.
“For all this and for their support, I thank Yamaha, my team and WithU, and the other sponsors involved in the project. It didn't go as we hoped, but it was right to try. The relationship with all the people involved in this challenge will remain intact forever. Thank you all.”
Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director, expressed similar disappointment that Dovizioso’s return to Yamaha did not deliver the desired outcomes, but nevertheless thanked him for his contribution.
“We are all sad that Andrea will be leaving the sport earlier than expected. He is a big name in MotoGP, and he will be missed in the paddock.
“We considered ourselves very lucky last year that he was available and willing to join our MotoGP programme. Andrea’s great expertise, experience, and methodical nature were of great interest to Yamaha and the RNF team and the project was fixed to include the full 2022 season.
“Unfortunately, Andrea has struggled to extract the maximum potential out of the M1 and thus the results have not been forthcoming, which has created understandable frustration for Andrea. Finally, during the summer break, he confirmed to us his desire to retire before the end of the season.”
A suitable fanfare was arranged for Dovizioso’s final grand prix race, both within the WithU Yamaha RNF team and in the GP paddock generally. Unfortunately, Dovizioso’s final race in MotoGP was much like his other results this season, finishing in twelfth place after qualifying 18th.
Dovizioso leaves grand prix racing with a record that includes 24 grand prix wins and 103 podiums across all classes, as well as 20 pole starts and 22 fastest race laps.
In the junior categories, Dovizioso won the 125cc World Championship in 2004 and finished runner-up in the 250cc category on two occasions.
Joining MotoGP in 2008 with Repsol Honda, Dovizioso took his first win in the premier class the following year and finished third in the championship in 2011 before joining Tech3 Yamaha in 2012. After only one season with Yamaha, Dovizioso switched to the factory Ducati team and would remain there until the end of 2020. In his time with Ducati, Dovizioso achieved 14 race wins, six of which came in the 2017 season. The Italian’s best championship placing with Ducati was second, which he achieved on three occasions, most recently in 2019.
Yamaha factory test rider Cal Crutchlow takes Dovizioso’s place on the WithU Yamaha RNF YZR-M1 for the remaining six rounds of this year’s GP calendar, including the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in October.
