Andrea Dovizioso is seemingly emulating the path to the retirement of his Italian MotoGP veteran Valentino Rossi – admitting at this week’s RNF Yamaha launch that his future ambitions in the sport depend largely on how the 2022 season turns out.
Echoing the thoughts Rossi shared in the run-up to his own retirement decision at the end of 2021, Dovizioso says what happens next depends on whether he’s having fun more than anything.
Dovizioso will return to MotoGP on a full-time basis in 2021 after a six-month break.
After failing to renew his contract with Ducati, he instead opted for a sabbatical that ended mid-last year when Maverick Vinales spectacularly left the factory Yamaha team, which then promoted Franco Morbidelli and a spot for Dovizioso on the then Petronas Yamaha satellite team created .
Returning for the final five races of the season and posting a best result of 12th as he adjusted back to the Yamaha after eight years on Ducatis, he promptly signed for the reborn RNF Racing Team for 2022 on a one-year deal, which meaning his MotoGP presence is only guaranteed until the end of the season.
So he heads into this year uncertain about his future, despite the hopes and dreams of team boss Razlan Razali, who insists Dovizioso will be in contention for the title.
Instead, the Italian has downplayed those aspirations, admitting he’s not yet sure where his level will be when the new season begins – but is aware his performance will define his future.
“It was a strange year, last year, and this year will be a strange year too,” he said at the team presentation, “because I don’t have any [long-term] Program. That’s the reality, and it’s not because I don’t want to talk about it.
“I’m really living this season like it’s my last season because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Everything is always related to the result, and if the result will be very good, it’s not a problem! If the result isn’t that good, that’s it.
“I’m very relaxed about it and I’m approaching the season like it’s the last season, not because it changes my approach – you can’t just decide that – but because I’m totally relaxed in this situation.
“I don’t have a contract for next year, but I don’t want a contract right now because I don’t know what I want to do.
“Of course everything is related to the result because when you are fast you enjoy it and when you are not fast you don’t, especially at this moment in my career. That’s why I’m totally relaxed.”
While Dovizioso – who turns 36 this season – effectively replaced Rossi as the team’s ‘veteran’ driver and elder statesman on the starting line-up, there’s a big difference in that the latter’s fate was firmly in his own hands . It wouldn’t have been difficult for Rossi to stay on the MotoGP grid this year had he decided to continue – not least because he has his own team in the premier class.
However, Dovizioso probably doesn’t have that luxury. For one, the exact identity of the Yamaha satellite team in 2023 is unknown as RNF is currently only on a one-year contract. And there’s ongoing speculation that Yamaha is hoping to poach Raul Fernandez from KTM, and Yamaha’s World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has made no secret of his MotoGP switch ambitions.
This might leave Dovizioso no place even as he enjoys his return to MotoGP and his options are unlikely to exist elsewhere.
But he is certain of one thing, if he doesn’t know how much longer he’s going to be around, it means he can’t rest on his laurels despite the challenges of the coming year and can use 2022 to complete the learning process on which Yamaha must instead fire from all cylinders regardless of the circumstances.
“I’m working on adapting to this bike because it’s so different,” Dovizioso told MotoGP.com. “I ended the season in a good situation with a good feeling, but still not great – and we have to achieve that in preparation.
“We’ll only have two days [of Sepang testing], not three like in the past, but we need to make the most of the Malaysia Test.”
And referring to his team’s stated goal of him fighting for the title, he agreed that despite his own uncertainty as to whether the performance will be enough, that is “the reality”.
“I don’t know if that will be possible, but… I have a factory bike, which means you have to fight for the championship,” he said, laughing. “Let’s see how the test goes.”