The moment many MotoGP™ fans are eagerly anticipating is nearly upon us. Beginning on Monday the 12th of April, 15-time premier class race winner Andrea Dovizioso will be at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto to get his leg over Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s RS-GP, as the Italians take part in a private test together.
Aprilia announced they offered Dovizioso a chance to test the brand-new – and very promising – RS-GP in March, with the three-time MotoGP™ runner-up taking a sabbatical in 2021 after losing his Ducati seat. Aleix Espargaro secured a pair of top 10s in Qatar and Doha respectively, with the new package a big step up from what we’ve seen in recent years.
Now, with the added bonus of having an experienced, quick rider in Dovizioso testing the bike, you have to think there’s only positives to come out of the three-day instalment for both Aprilia and Dovizioso.
It remains to be seen whether or not Dovizioso will race with Aprilia at some point during 2021, but speaking to motogp.com in Qatar, Dovi’s manager Simone Battistella reiterated that it is unlikely Dovi will make a sensational return to Grand Prix racing action this season. Battistella also confirmed that no other test dates have been lined up yet, but that of course could change, depending on what happens between the 12-14 of April in Andalucia.
“Well, I don’t think there is a chance this season. For sure he wants to do the test and he accepted the invitation of Aprilia. He was very keen to jump back on a MotoGP bike. We’re working for 2022, though. We’re not thinking about 2021,” commented Battistella.
“It’s just a test for the moment. We didn’t plan or speak about anything else. There may be another test or more testing, but at the moment we just decided to do this one and take it from there.”
Dovizioso won’t be on track along though. Stefan Bradl (HRC), Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) and Mika Kallio (KTM) will be taking part in private testing too, so it will be interesting to see what Dovizioso’s lap times are compared to the other trios. The MotoGP™ riders will be lapping in between the Official MotoE™ Test sessions across the three days.