Between the privilege of evolving at the top of the on-track motorcycle sport food chain, and the freedom to ride wherever and however he sees fit, Andrea Dovizioso has chosen: it will be freedom. And this is not on rough asphalt imposing crippling development constraints. But on a surface where grip is never an exact science, which always requires the driver to compensate. What's more, it's on this dirt that it all began for Dovi, who also took up Rallycross...
Andrea Dovizioso will have time to pursue his passions. Not that the MotoGP was not one of them. But it was also combined with a job and a career. This time, in this sabbatical year announced, the moments will be chosen and experienced for oneself. It will also be a return to basics. The three-time world vice-champion explains: “ everything related to land, sleepers and engines really gives me an exquisite taste ».
And for good reason. The former of Ducati entrusts : " everything was born thanks to my father, a big Motocross fan. He gave me this love a long time ago, when we lived in the country, by making me win a bet. It was about what would be my first motocross bike, and that's where it all began. Then things clearly evolved ". But towards the well-paved circuit.
However, the link with the earth has never been broken, thanks to the training: “ I am convinced that diversifying the methods with which you prepare and always seek performance makes you more ready to face what really matters to you. Days like those in RallyX or those in motocross, I experience them halfway between training and escape: for us, these activities are the only real way to train, so you always have to keep a certain shape of spirit to always try to improve. Being faced with such particular means, on a mental level, regenerates you a lot ».
Andrea Dovizioso no longer wanted to live in a cage
The land also offers another opportunity, and not the least. It is even from her that Dovizioso formed his conviction that he needed a change of scenery: “ I think that in asphalt racing, more and earlier than in other sports, the technique and the bike make a huge difference. If you don't have certain things, then you feel like you're caged because you can't invent anything. It is clear that you can always try to make a difference, but beyond a certain threshold, you no longer have any room for intervention ».
« On the other hand, in sports like Motocross or RallyX, while always keeping in mind the importance of the motorcycle and the importance of technique, there is a driver interpretation threshold which is higher than when racing on asphalt. When you struggle to achieve results on the track, you feel locked in a cage : You know you can do better, but not as much as it would take to change the outcome of a race. In other sports I think it's different: the passion with which I live motocross makes you feel this difference with my world very clearly. And I'm not hiding from you that after a certain time, such a contrast takes on weight ". Until it tips the scales...
