Waiting For Dovizioso's Proving To Fight In MotoGP 2022

Andrea Dovizioso (Instagram @andreadovizioso)

JAKARTA - Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso will race a full year in MotoGP 2022 with the RNF Yamaha team and needs to prove he still has the motivation and drive to fight for the world championship.

Having lost his seat at Ducati at the end of 2020, Dovi, who is a three-time MotoGP runner-up, underwent a test with Aprilia during his time off from competition, before being given the chance by the SRT team.

Dovi is back in MotoGP after five races at the end of the 2021 season with the SRT team riding Franco Morbidelli's two-year-old Yamaha bike, after his compatriot was promoted to the factory Yamaha team to replace Maverick Vinales who left for Aprilia.

He scored points in four of the five races he ran last year, with a best finish of P12 in Valencia.

After being left by Petronas as its main sponsor at the end of 2021, the SRT team continues their journey in MotoGP with a new brand, namely RNF Racing, in collaboration with Italian sponsor WithU, who on Monday officially launched their new motorcycle livery at a theater in Verona, Italy.

"I'm very ready for this season," said Dovi, quoted by Yamaha's official website, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 25.

"I'm very happy to start this full season after five test races last year, which was very important to start early with the Yamaha, a different bike than the one I used in the previous eight seasons.

"I'm sure this will really help me approach the test and race in 2022 in a good way. I know more about this bike, about the engineers and the team in general."

Dovi will be accompanied by rookie Darryn Binder, who is the second rider in MotoGP history to jump from Moto3 to MotoGP.

Yamaha RNF founder and head Razlan Razali has no doubts about the experience Dovi has during his career racing in MotoGP but he wants to see if the senior rider is still alive and well.

"For Andrea, he still has a lot to prove after returning more than six months on leave," said Razali.

"He certainly wants to prove not only to himself, but to everyone, that he still has the motivation, experience, and drive to fight in this world championship."

Dovi will ride a factory Yamaha 2022 motorcycle after signing a direct contract with Yamaha.

Meanwhile, Binder will pilot the 2021-spec M1.

RNF has also stated its commitment to liven up MotoGP until 2026 after signing a contract with Dorna Sports.

The two riders will have their first chance to test their new bikes in the pre-season test session on February 5-6 in Sepang, Malaysia.