Already warned Andrea Dovizioso at the end of the 2020 season that his retirement was not final but a stop along the way, until he found a new project that appealed to him. That moment has come, at 35 years old, and he will make his debut at the San Marino GP with the Yamaha satellite team, still named Petronas, and will have a factory motorcycle next year and with factory support, just as he wanted. The Italian from Forli looks happy, the runner-up for three years in a row between 2017 and 2019.
His tests with Aprilia: “I was very happy to do some tests with Aprilia. It was nice, but I refused to stay with the MotoGP bike. The relationship was good and the atmosphere was good. I’m happy I did those tests, but I knew I wanted to win and sometimes they pass these tests. things. I’ve been lucky. And I’m happy. “
The Maverick-Yamaha Divorce: “Everybody was surprised by what happened with Maverick and Yamaha and nobody knows what happened after a long relationship. It was a big surprise that they broke the contract during the season.”
Expectations: “I hope to know how strong my bike is in the next five races. I am not worried about the results. Our agreement is to have a factory motorcycle next season, with factory support, and this year what you have to do is understand the bike, find the position. I will ride in a different way than before, so the first thing will be to find the position and, when we get it, push. We’ll see. In MotoGP it goes very fast and everything is very tight. It is very hard The last one is very close and I don’t know where I’ll be. “
Changes: “I still have to understand how this bike is ridden. Since last year the championship has changed a lot. Young riders go very fast and stop the bike less, they ride more in the style of Moto2. Last year I suffered a lot with the change in gear. Tires, from the first test to the last race. You have to understand the potential of the tire. “
Crutchlow’s experience: “Everyone knows Cal. I was talking to him for an hour in Aragon and we were laughing the whole hour. It’s difficult to talk to Cal. It’s difficult to understand the details of the bike with him. I will have time to understand this bike from here to end of season. On paper, the engine is slower. We have to find the position because the size of the bike is different. “
Doubts: “I felt good at home, I was doing what I like, my passion (motocross) and I was quite relaxed and it showed. Especially my girlfriend told me this. (Laughter). At first, when that door was opened, I didn’t see it. Very clear, but in 2012 I had had a good year and my dream was to get on a factory Yamaha, and it didn’t happen. And now that possibility was open to me. At that time I thought that that was my bike. I don’t mean to say that with The official would have been stronger or better but as a pilot you have your idea, you have your feelings when you race. And since I started racing I thought that this was my factory, and it was something I really wanted to do. Of course, there are more risks than Possibilities of doing it well, in my opinion, I think that this is also the case for many people. But I don’t care, I race because I have a passion for racing, I have a lot of interest in trying a different bike, a different brand. “
Your level: “I can’t do 35 championships like Valentino … (Laughter). People go very fast. If you compare the difference between the first and the last four years ago, it is now very different. So the position that I achieved at this start is not the Subject, this is not going to be the main problem. The fundamental thing is to have good feelings, feel good on the bike and improve race by race and step by step. This is the important thing now. And as I said before, I am lucky to be able to do five races plus the test, more than a rider can normally do when he changes bikes. You have two training sessions or three preseason and now I’ll have that plus five races and next week’s test. I think that’s positive, especially if you approach this as a period of adaptation. “
Miss Ducati: “A little bit in Qatar, because in Qatar the situation was special and I always did well there, but other than that, no, because I finished the 2020 season in a pretty bad way, and when you get out of a situation like that you don’t want to be there. This is why I was comfortable outside after having been there for eight years and knowing that I could do other things, especially if you have other passions and you can start doing them immediately. “
Racing alongside Valentino Rossi on a satellite team: “Being Valentino’s teammate is something special, not only because he has won many titles, but because, as everyone knows, he is a special driver. He is charismatic, he is a special person, so I am happy to be with him. It’s not the best time to be his teammate, at the moment of the race he’s in, and I’m starting from scratch… I don’t think we’re fighting to win. This is a bit strange because you’re talking about Valentino, it’s strange but at the same time it is very nice to be Vale’s partner.
Ramón Forcada: “The team I have this year is going to be the same as I have next year, everyone talks to me very well about Ramón, he is a champion, and he has a lot of experience, especially with this bike. So it is perfect for me to start. during the championship but to be able to do it with him. “
He not to Aprilia: “With Aprilia, at the beginning of 2020 I did not want to race with them in 2021 and that is why I stayed home, because I had not finished last year with a good feeling. Massimo Rivola is a very good person and he pushed me a lot to I tried the bike and in the end he won. (Laughter) And it was a good idea, my manager also pushed towards that side because for them it was a good idea. But I did not approach this experience thinking about racing, although I wanted to race in MotoGP and I had always confessed it. It’s strange, but the situation was not what I wanted, not because the Aprilia was not good, because they are showing what this bike is like and immediately when I got on it I told them so. I did understand that they had to work. in many details to be up there and make podiums and win races. They are showing how good the project is and Aleix is ​​showing the potential of the bike. “
Marc Márquez: “It is very difficult to analyze Marc’s situation and Honda’s situation from the outside. I think he is capable of fighting for victory despite not being in the best physical condition. And I also think Honda is not at its best and You just have to see what the rest of the Honda riders are going through to be able to get the full potential of the bike. So, that Marc is able to fight for victories in his current situation, and that he has won one this year … what Márquez is doing is something crazy. “