After Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) confirmed he won’t be on the 2021 MotoGP™ grid, we thought it would be nice to have a little trip down memory lane. The Italian has been a full-time Grand Prix motorcycle racer since 2002, and it’s safe to say that Dovizioso is one of the best riders to grace the sport we know and love.
A young Dovizioso first stepped onto the Grand Prix scene in 2001 as an Italian GP wildcard, before making his full-time debut a year later. A solid 2002 campaign was followed by a 2003 season which saw Dovizioso claim his maiden rostrum at the South African GP, where he finished three tenths behind Dani Pedrosa. Three more podiums followed in 2003 before Dovizioso ruled the 125cc world in 2004, picking up the World Championship with 11 podiums, five of those being victories.
A step up to the 250cc class followed in 2005 and in his debut intermediate class season, Dovizioso claimed third overall thanks to five podiums. Over the next couple of seasons, Dovi would claim P2 in the standings after accumulating 21 rostrums, finishing behind Jorge Lorenzo on both occasions. A well-earned move up to the premier class awaited in 2008 with Honda and JiR Team Scot MotoGP, and it was an impressive rookie campaign. Dovizioso finished 5th in the Championship and secured his first top flight podium at the Malaysian GP.
Repsol Honda Team came calling in 2009, and who could forget that famous Donington Park race. The scene of Dovizioso’s first MotoGP™ victory came on British soil, but that would be his only win with the Japanese manufacturer. 14 podiums and two years later, a manufacturer switch saw Dovizioso excel on the Tech3 Yamaha in 2012. Six third places were secured ahead of a big move to the factory Ducati Team in 2013.
The number 04 has been a fundamental key to Ducati’s journey back to the top. After long seasons of hard work in ’13, ’14 and ’15 – which saw ‘DesmoDovi’ cement seven podiums – a first win for the Italian on the red machine came in Malaysia, before a serious title challenge was mounted in an unforgettable 2017 battle vs Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez.
For 2018, he hit the ground running to win the season opener, endured some harder races and then came back swinging – ending the year runner up once again. 2019 began in similar fashion: a famous win under the lights in Qatar. However, a certain Marc Marquez turned up the wick and proved too much for everyone, with Dovizioso claiming nine podiums – including two wins – on his way to P2 in the overall standings for a third year in a row.
A crazy 2020 campaign hasn’t gone how Dovizioso or Ducati would have hoped. A podium in Jerez and then victory in Austria has helped the Italian warhorse to stay in the title hunt, but no podiums since Round 4 has ultimately cost Dovizioso a real shot at MotoGP™’s most wanted prize. And of course, during that time period, news broke that Dovizioso would not be signing a new contract beyond 2020 with the Bologna factory, after months of speculation about his future.
What does the future now hold for one of MotoGP™’s greats? A year off in 2021, with the hope of coming back rejuvenated in 2022. It will be an incredibly sad to not have one of the best on the grid in 2021, but what a career the Italian has had and treated us to – and it may not be over yet.