Dovizioso walks from Ducati
Andrea Dovizioso will leave Ducati at the end of the 2020 Motogp season after eight seasons with the team.
Talks between Ducati and Dovizioso stalled in recent months over money, with the Italian manufacturer wanting to put an end to big-money contracts as it feels the pinch from the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the Friday of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Ducati said it would take its decision for 2021 on Dovizioso after this weekend’s Styrian GP. But on Saturday, Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella informed Ducati of his rider’s intentions not to renew his deal beyond 2020.
Battistella said no offer was ever tabled by Ducati and insists money was never an issue. Dovizioso refused to go into detail at the Red Bull Ring. “The only thing I can say is that it was better to take the decision now and be focused on the racing instead of waiting for more races,” he said.
Dovizioso’s options outside of Ducati are limited to Aprilia, which is awaiting the final verdict on Andrea Iannone’s appeal to have his 18-month doping ban overturned. This has been delayed to 15 October on the request of the World Anti-doping Agency.
Dovizioso, who has won 14 races for Ducati and finished runner-up in the past three Motogp seasons, admitted: “I want to race, but in this moment I don’t have any Plan B. But that decision… this situation was different than to wait for the Plan B.”
The decision drew many reactions from the racing world, with Ducati’s 2007 world champion Casey Stoner tweeting that the marque “couldn’t afford to lose a rider like Dovizioso”. Cal Crutchlow, who rode for Ducati in 2014, said Ducati was losing “a great rider… but that doesn’t mean that rider can’t be replaced”.
Valentino Rossi said he was “surprised” by the decision, and feels it opens the rider market up. Ducati is yet to make any firm plans, but Francesco Bagnaia, Johann Zarco and its ex-rider Jorge Lorenzo have all been linked. On Lorenzo, Ducati said “his name has been on the table and may still be”.