Andrea Dovizioso explains his long-term commitment to Ducati

After finishing third in the MotoGP World Championship in 2011, while riding a Honda as part of the factory team with Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, Andrea finished fourth in the world in 2012 on a Yamaha from the Tech3 team, before leaving for for a long time at Ducati.

Taking charge of Bologna at that time was not a grandiose opportunity, because in 2012 Valentino Rossi could only finish sixth with 163 points, compared to 350 for the World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden finished ninth. In 2013, Nicky and Dovi formed the basic structure of Ducati, complemented by Andrea Iannone and Yonny Hernandez at Pramac, and Michele Pirro as a test driver, sometimes wild card. Note that Ben Spies started the season at Pramac, before being replaced by Hernandez who started it at PBM (Paul Bird Motorsport) on an Aprilia ART.

Dovi's first seasons at Ducati were not extraordinary, with the eighth place finish in 2013, the fifth in 2014, the seventh in 2015, and the fifth in 2016, but with a victory, Andrea's second in MotoGP after the first on Honda in 2009 at Donington.

Then came Audi and especially Gigi Dall'Igna, and the Desmosedici found color again. Dovi too, who this year leads the World Championship with 5 GPs remaining, tied with Marc Marquez, after his superb victories at Mugello, Barcelona, Austria and Silverstone.

For Dovi, his history and that of the Bologna manufacturer have points in common, and the meeting was favorable for both: “ When I came to Ducati in 2013 we were in a similar situation. We wanted to go to the top together, which is what I had in common with the Ducati team.

“It takes a lot of time, of course, a lot of racing. We had a lot of problems, we fought a lot – internally, but that's one of the main reasons why we can achieve such good results.

“We have progressed step by step since 2013. In many races we lost or finished second, but this has created a strong relationship and commitment.

“When the bike improved, I wanted to continue working in that direction, and that's why we are now in such a good position for the upcoming races. »