Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1406072
IN THE WIND P62 Dovizioso Back With Yamaha, SRT Closes Y amaha has confirmed further changes to its MotoGP lineup from Misano in mid-September. Once Franco Morbidelli returns from injury, he will slot into the factory squad alongside Fabio Quartararo. "The opportunity is for Frankie to grade up," said Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Managing Director, at Silverstone. In a sensational turn of events, Andrea Dovizioso is poised to replace Morbidelli in the Petronas SRT Yamaha squad from Misano, and will lead that rebranded squad in 2022. "We've agreed here this weekend with Andrea and his management," Jarvis said. "What we're working on now is Andrea will return in Misano. He'll run this season on Frankie's bike and then run a full season next year." Having left Ducati at the close of 2020, Dovizioso did a hand- ful of tests for Aprilia through this year. Yet reports suggest he was never fully convinced of the capabilities of the Noale factory, meaning he turned down the chance to race there next year. This much was reflected in Aleix Espargaro's comments at Silver- stone. "I want the people involved in this project to be 100-percent trustworthy. Maverick [Vinales] is, Lorenzo [Savadori], too. The oth- ers, I don't know…" It has been a busy month for Yamaha, with confirmation com- ing on the eve of the British GP that Petronas will withdraw its sponsorship from the SRT Ya- maha satellite team that currently fields Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi. What's more, the Sepang Racing Team (SRT) will cease to exist, signaling an end to their Moto2 and Moto3 projects A new-look satellite Yamaha team will take its place, backed by Italian energy producer WithU with team principal Razlan Razali and team direc- tor Johan Stigefelt confirmed as being part of the project. Dovizioso will lead the team next year, with Darryn Binder— currently part of the team's Moto3 outfit—fancied to take the second seat. The news comes three years after the team announced its foray into MotoGP ahead of 2019. It enjoyed a sensational start to life and was responsible for the discovery of Fabio Quartararo on the MotoGP stage. In 2020 it won six premier class races. Neil Morrison Andrea Dovizioso will be back on a Yamaha for the first time in a decade at Misano. South African Darryn Binder looks set to join Dovi at the satellite Yamaha team for next season.