The fate of Andrea Dovizioso within the Yamaha clan is a subject which came into the spotlight at the end of this first day of the Catalan Grand Prix, ninth round of the world championship. A deadline which saw Franco Morbidelli react, who finally took his ticket to get into the top 10 wagon. At least a similar reaction was expected from Andrea Dovizioso, but it did not come. A disappointment which would have been too many since a rumor arose that the Italian would not survive the summer break…
While Franco Morbidelli raised his head after the first two free practice sessions of the Catalan Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso was once again in the depths of the rankings. 21st place, 1,5 seconds away, his comment on his ordeal was always the same refrain: “ nothing has changed in my feelings. We tried a crazy setup again this Friday, but it didn't work. We wanted more grip, but we couldn't find it. The feeling has not improved at the front and we have not progressed at the rear either. This is why the gap has not narrowed ". We will recall that after Mugello last weekend, Dovi openly wondered what he was doing there.
The rumor that circulated therefore had all the arguments to prove credible, starting with that of pilot weariness, who Yamaha would share. The idea is thatAndrea Dovizioso would put an end to all that once the summer break is over. At the end of these five weeks of truce, it is the test pilot Cal Crutchlow who would take his place at RNF. We will remember that, last year, the Englishman was mobilized to fill the space left free by Maverick Vinales at the end of a stormy separation with the manufacturer.
Lin Jarvis, Yamaha: “anything is possible in MotoGP”
Will the same pattern repeat itself this year? The team owner Razlan Razali and WithU CEO Matteo Ballarin expected that Dovizioso competes in the top 3 or top 5 of the championship before the season. But he has only scored eight points in the first eight races and is only 21st in the provisional general classification. However, the Malaysian commented on speedweek : " Andrea Dovizioso will finish the season with our team », assured the director of the RNF team which will move from Yamaha to Aprilia at the end of this season for the period from 2023 to 2024.
At Yamaha Motor Racing, the response was identical: “ there are currently no such plans ". We would be there if Lynn Jarvis had not added: “ everything is possible in MotoGP. We saw it last year ". The General Director of the brand with tuning forks has once again branded in his memory the divorce with Maverick Vinales.
MotoGP Catalonia J1: MotoGP FP1 and FP2 results
Credit classification motogp.com
