Two-year Ducati deal for Dovizioso

Italian media says Dovizioso is the favourite to replace Rossi at Ducati

Posted: 13 August 2012
by Visordown News

DUCATI are poised to announce that Andrea Dovizioso will be taking Valentino Rossi's place at the Italian manufacturer, according to Sportmediaset.

Dovizioso will take Rossi's vacated seat, after the seven-time MotoGP champion struggled for success with Ducati and will return to Yamaha in 2013. The Tech 3 rider is expected to sign a deal for two seasons with the announcement coming this weekend at Indianapolis.

For Dovizioso to commit to the troubled Italian manufacturer he has demanded reassurances that Ducati's new owner, Audi, will have a significant involvement in the development of the Desmosedici with a faster response for updates.

Ducati are said to be still interested in recruiting Cal Crutchlow. However, with the factory team spaces taken up with Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden, the Briton is rumoured to have been offered a place in the planned 'Junior Team' alongside Moto2 front-runner Andrea Iannone, but with the promise of a full factory bike.

In the event that Crutchlow rejects this offer and continues in the satellite Yamaha team next season, Scott Redding is in line to graduate to MotoGP on the Ducati, following an impressive debut test on the Desmosedici GP12 at Mugello two weeks ago.


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evil ken evil
Dovi for WSBK in 2015 then !

ive read that the fact Ducati are hiring a traditional 250 style racer is a sign that they realise there is a problem with the bike and they need to build a bike that works on MOTOGP style tyres

the irony is that it took Rossi leaving for them to come to this conclusion

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 10:53


Rolodojo
bang goes my Ducati 35 baseball cap for 2013 then :(

Shame did Dovizioso get it cos he's the better rider or because he's Italian?

Personally think Cal is the better rider and racer.

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 11:06


mooky55
Cal has yet to beat Dovi - while its arguable that he is still developing and has more to come and Dovi might not have much capacity to develop left, Dovi is currently the more consistent better racer with the better results and I dont think thats "debatable"

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 11:35


Szmolo
Good move Dovi, you're going to go from fighting for the podium and taking consistent top 5 finishes, to scrapping for 7th-10th place. Bravo

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 11:39


"TC"
"Cal has yet to beat Dovi??" - who was the C Crutchlow on the result sheet that beat him in Qatar, Jerez, and Silverstone then?

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 11:41


Pagik
The penny's finally dropped in Bologna then has it? Bravo. Only taken them the best part of 3 years and a myriad of riders all telling them the problem. Still, at least they looked at themselves and realised their issues before VR left................oh wait, no, that's wrong isn't it...

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 12:00


mooky55
POSITION RIDER TEAM POINTS
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 205
2 Dani Pedrosa Honda 182
3 Casey Stoner Honda 173
4 Andrea Dovizioso Yamaha 121
5 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 106

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 13:01


mooky55
TC - I mean in general, Dovi has the best results so far this year.

I would love Cal to get the ride and I hope that he will improve still a lot and become a race winner. The point i was making is that Dovi has something like 3 podiums this year to Cals none, is higher in the points and so far is doing a better job.

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 13:05


fluke
That will be another career in tatters then ......


Cal needs to stay on the Yam and get more experience - maybe even get a podium or 3 and then hopefully doors will open.

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 13:30


"TC"
Mooky - point taken, and as a lifelong Ducati fan, I hope they can get the Gp sorted, whoever is on it

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 17:27


Nick Name 998
Turns out to be a good move for Ducati. Hayden, consistent team player, good for the US. Dovi Italian, scoring well, hungry. And a junior team on the cards as well. With Audi likely spitting taks that Rossi has left (muppet) then I zinc zee germans vill be very close to development from now on.
Long live Ducaudi. As long as they do not turn it into a Bentley SUV then 2013 might be a decent year in motogp.

Posted: 13/08/2012 at 18:15


pyndman
what are you all talking about. Crutchlow should go nowehre near a ducati. The satellite yam is a much better bike and will be next year too. Fuck the 'factory ride' tag, that bike is shite.

Posted: 14/08/2012 at 00:37

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