IN
THE
WIND
P32
T
he tension had been building.
But still you wonder how it
came to this. The shocking news
of the weekend at the Austrian
MotoGP, August 14-16, arrived as
Andrea Dovizioso confirmed he
will be leaving Ducati at the end of
2020 after months of stalled con-
tract talks and simmering tensions.
The two parties have been
miles apart in terms of salary
demands. After Ducati manage-
ment said they would decide
whether they would continue
with the three-time champion-
ship runner up after the Austrian
doubleheader, Dovizioso beat
them to it. On Saturday morning,
personal manager Simone Bat-
tistella informed Ducati bosses
the eight-year relationship will be
over in November.
Dovizioso confirmed: "When
you're thinking about how to be
fast, how to be strong, and you
have to take a decision about the
future and the relation with the
engineers, with your boss… you
don't live in a perfect way when
the speed is like it was in the first
three rounds."
Not only that. Tensions over
development direction have been
building for well over a year now.
As the Italian said, "It's like when
you are with a girlfriend and you
have to take a decision. It doesn't
happen one day. It's eight years
together so happen a lot of
things positive and negative."
Dovizioso's decision was so
shocking partly because he has
no back-up plan in place. "In this
moment, I don't have any plan
B," he said. And Battistella con-
firmed he intends to find a place
in MotoGP next year. "He is
determined to race in the future
for sure. He's willing to race, he's
motivated, he's fit. But at the mo-
ment there are no discussions."
The only other factory team
with a possible free seat in 2021
is Aprilia. If he were to go there,
he'd be welcomed with open
arms by Aleix Espargaro. "I don't
understand it. It looks like some
teams are not giving enough
credit to their riders," Espargaro
said. "I think what Andrea gave to
Ducati is unbelievable. As a rider
I know it's not easy for the Aprilia
management, but as a rider I
would love to have Andrea, for
me the second-best rider in the
world in the last five years, as a
teammate. It would help the team
to grow up a lot and it would help
me to be a better rider. He would
be more than welcome at Aprilia
from my side."
Neil Morrison
Andrea Dovizioso
To Leave Ducati
Desmo Dovi is no more.
Dovizioso will walk
away from Ducati at the
end of the season.
