All the top riders in MotoGP contracts expire at the end of this season and while Valentino Rossi has said that he’d like to race for another couple of years and maybe negotiate another two year contract with Ducati, if things go better this season, Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis has shut the door on the eventuality of the Italian returning to his old team.

Jarvis has already said that keeping Jorge Lorenzo is a key priority for them, with a nod also towards negotiations with Casey Stoner, but Rossi is “not an option.”

Jarvis commenting on silly season rumors of having Rossi back as a team mate with Lorenzo said, “It’s an interesting question, but right now I have no idea what projects Valentino has for the future, if he’ll continue motorcycle racing or turn to car racing like he talked about when he was with us. In any case, Valentino and Jorge together again Yamaha is not an option we are considering for the future.

Continue reading: Lin Jarvis: "Valentino Rossi back in Yamaha is not an option"

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Andrea Dovizioso broke his right collarbone yesterday in a motocross training accident and tomorrow will be undergoing surgery at the Cattolica Hospital, which will be performed by Dr. Giuseppe Porcellini, the same doctor who operated Valentino Rossi’s shoulder at the end of the 2010 season.

At the moment there is some cautious optimism that Dovizioso will able to take part in the first official test at Sepang at the end of the month, but according to Dr. Porcellini in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, the fracture was bad, “I saw the pictures of the collarbone over the phone and it is a bad break, and there are also two fragments. Even if he had been a normal working guy he couldn’t have avoided surgery.”

After this type of surgery doctors recommend rest for 15 days: “We will have to insert a plate and then try to recommend that Dovizioso rest for at least fifteen days, hoping that he’ll then be able to test. In any case he is going to have to be very careful, “ concluded Dr. Porcellini.

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The winter break isn’t going so well for MotoGP riders, Nicky Hayden broke his scapula and ribs while training at the end of December and today Andrea Dovizioso posted this photo on his Facebook page, reporting that he’s in the hospital with broken collarbone and commenting, “che sfiga!dal campo da cross all’ospedale con clavicola destra rotta. fuck, i broke my right collarbone doing motocross.”

At the moment Dovizioso hasn’t said how serious his injury is and if he’ll have to undergo surgery to fix the fracture and whether he’ll be able to take part in the important MotoGP tests at Sepang at the end of this month with his Yamaha Tech3 team.

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In an exclusive interview in issue no.49 of Motosprint magazine Andrea Dovizoso talked about his life-long rivalry and relationship with the late Marco Simoncelli, who he knew from the age of six.

The two riders were completely different character wise, even as children when they were competing against each other, Simoncelli was able to laugh off defeat, even if he was bothered by it while the more serious Dovizioso would hide under the table in his family’s camper crying.

Dovizioso admitted that despite Marco’s on-track aggressiveness and instinctiveness that over the years had rubbed him and then the other top riders the wrong way, there was still respect between them.

The Yamaha Tech3 rider also admitted that when Marco died at Sepang he hadn’t talked to Simoncelli’s dad for over a year due to the rivalry between the two families (even the two fathers would butt heads occasionally), but when he visited the Simoncelli family on the day that the coffin arrived, everything that had happened in the past was put aside and he had to finally accept that Marco was gone and this touched him more deeply than he had ever expected.

So deeply that Dovizioso decided to get another tattoo and this latest one tries to explain his thoughts, “After what happened, here is to Sic my thoughts in a Polynesian tattoo with the sun god (life), the frigate bird (destiny) and a gecko.” While words on the tattoo say, ‘I am the master of my destiny, but only destiny knows the end of my journey.’

Dovizioso isn’t the only Italian rider to remember Marco with ink, life-long friend Mattia Pasini has tattooed on the inside of his left wrist a large 58 and the word Sic that he had done just before Simoncelli’s funeral.

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You can tell we’re still in for a long and boring winter, when a couple of simple statements are used to stir up a little off-season controversy between riders.

We’ve already mentioned what Andrea Dovizioso had to say about Valentino Rossi - that the former World Champion will not be competitive enough on the Ducati in 2012 to fight for the world title and that with today’s rivals even if he was on a Japanese motorcycle he wouldn’t be able to dominate - Rossi was asked what he thought about these statements, and used this phrase on Twitter, “When a rider wins something important then his true character emerges. The problem is that he’s never won.”

Now a suprised and a regretful Dovizioso in an interview with Sportmediaset.com tried to explain his previous statements, putting the blame squarely on the media, who he says distorted his words, “The meaning of my words were completely distorted, the media and websites change things. I think that Valentino, who is intelligent and an expert knows and understands these things. I came back from Argentina and people told me that I was arrogant and presumptuous towards him. That’s false. I wouldn’t dream of it, I know who Rossi is and I’m not stupid.”

The Italian tried to explain what he meant, “I said that Ducati will not have an easy time because it’s difficult to completely change a motorcycle and have it work well right off the bat, especially when you have measure yourself against Honda and Yamaha who already have a successful and winning base to start from. I also said that even if Rossi was riding a Japanese motorcycle he wouldn’t dominate like in the past because he has very strong rivals, that doesn’t mean he’s finished or can’t win races or a championship.”

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Last week in Buenos Aires, the Gran Premio de la República Argentina was officially presented with the event will be hosted at Termas de Río Hondo circuit in the province of Santiago del Estero in 2013.

One of the guests at the presentation was Yamaha Tech3 rider Andrea Dovizioso (he’s currently a topic of discussion regarding certain statements he made on Valentino Rossi regarding the fact that the former World Champion will not be competitive enough on the Ducati in 2012 to fight for the world title and that with the today’s rivals even if he was on a Japanese motorcycle he wouldn’t be able to dominate which launched a piqued response from Rossi) he was interviewed by Argentinian Corsa TV and talked about the new circuit that will be on the MotoGP calendar for three years and his new ride, the Yamaha M1.

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The Bettega Memorial rally (dedicated to former Lancia factory driver Attilio Bettega, who died during the 1985 Tour de Corse) is one of the highlights of the Bologna Motorshow and this year’s victory went to Petter Solberg.

The former World Rally champion however had his hands full over the two day event as Andrea Dovizioso driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC gave him some close competition, infact the Yamaha Tech 3 rider got in the final showdown as the two went into a tie break which Solberg won, but Dovizioso was able to beat Kris Meeke who took third and Jari-Matti Latvala who finished in fourth.

The rally drivers were impressed by the MotoGP rider, Latvala said, “He has done a really good job and he was improving very quickly. We spoke together about the areas where he can brake late and which gears to use: this kind of thing. It would be good if he did some events in the future, like Valentino Rossi did. For sure he has the basic talent” while Solberg said after the Night Sprint, “this guy is much better than Valentino Rossi as a rally driver.”

Rossi came in second in the Monza Rally Show behind Sebastien Loeb.

Videos and more pics after the jump.

Continue reading: "Andrea Dovizioso is a better rally driver than Valentino Rossi" says Petter Solberg

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As we already anticipated last September, the Autodromo di Termas de Rio Honda in Argentina will be hosting MotoGP racing from to 2013 to 2015 and Andrea Dovizioso will be the guest of honour to officially launch Argentina back on the MotoGP calendar.

The event will be held next Tuesday at the Bicentennial Museum (Casa Nacional del Bicentenario) also attending will be Gerardo Zamora, governor of the Santiago del Estero province, where the Termas de Rio Honda circuit is located and the Minister of Tourism Enrique Meyer and the usual Dorna and FIM representatives.

More details on the Argentinian GP will be revealed during the presentation.

Source | motoblog.it

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This upcoming MotoGP race at Valencia will be extremely difficult for everyone as it will be carried out under the dark cloud of the recent and tragic death of Marco Simoncelli.

The Repsol Honda team riders have admitted it will a tough one to get through, but are prepared to honour their fellow Honda rider, as is Dorna who is trying to organize the minute of noise requested by Simoncelli Sr. All the Valencia marshals will be wearing black arm bands while hundreds of racing fans are probably going to show at the Spanish track wearing tribute ‘Simoncelli’ wigs.

Casey Stoner has already wrapped up the 2011 championship title and is already thinking towards the new 2012 season, while Dani Pedrosa will be looking for victory in this season’s finale which would place him third in the general standings ahead of departing team mate Andrea Dovizioso, who will making his last appearance as Honda rider (after 10 years) before heading to the Yamaha Tech3 squad.

Here’s what the Repsol Honda riders had to say:

“It will be difficult to return to racing this weekend after Marco’s terrible accident in Sepang but I think it is the best thing we can do to honour him. We know we all play a risky game and, even if compared to the past the safety of our sport is much better, unfortunately these kind of events still occur. My thoughts go out to his family and I hope that they are coping through this period.”

“The race this weekend is the final round of an incredible season for us, we worked hard all year and after clinching the title in Phillip Island we are starting to look to 2012. After the race here in Valencia we will have the two day test on the 1000cc machine and then we can take a well deserved break and reflect on the ups and downs of a very long hard season. We will go out there this weekend and try to put on a good show for all the fans and especially in memory of Marco,” commented Casey Stoner.

Continue reading: Repsol Honda riders remember Marco Simoncelli and preview Valencia GP

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The rumor broke late Friday afternoon when several websites reported that Andrea Dovizioso had signed with Yamaha Tech3 for the 2012 season after spending ten years with Honda.

This rumor has now been officially confirmed and Dovizioso will be fielded alongside Cal Crutchlow and will be riding a satellite Yamaha next year, when MotoGP reverts back to the 1000cc format. The Italian hopes that he’ll then be considered for a Yamaha full factory ride in 2013, when both Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies’ contracts expire.

Andrea Dovizioso:

“I’m happy to have reached this agreement with Tech 3 for next year and I want to thank Hervé Poncharal for the opportunity he is giving me. I am excited to become part of Hervé’s squad and to be teamed with Cal. I am sure this new challenge will be exciting, motivating and fun. Now that 2012 is sorted I want to focus on finishing the season in the best possible way.”



Continue reading: Andrea Dovizioso and Yamaha Tech3 deal officially confirmed

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According to German website Speedweek.de Andrea Dovizioso has finally made up his mind and will be riding for Yamaha Tech3 next season, even in the final contract details have yet to be ironed out.

Dovizioso who has spent his entire career racing for Honda, will make the move to the satellite Yamaha team after Repsol Honda decided to cut their racing budget. Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto wanted to keep the Italian and had offered him a full factory bike but riding for LCR’s Honda team, but apparently the Italian rider was not happy that rival Marco Simoncelli, who is behind him in the standings will be receiving the same preferential treatment and instead has opted for a one year contract with Herve Poncharal’s squad.

As Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies’ contracts expire at the end of 2012, Dovizioso is hoping that he can move up to the factory team.

With ‘Dovi’ to be teamed with Cal Crutchlow, Eugene Laverty who was also on Tech3’s short list will probably remain in World Superbikes, with several sources reporting that he has signed with Aprilia to partner Max Biaggi, while others are reporting that he’ll be in BMW Italia, while John Hopkins and Randy de Puniet are on Lucio Cecchinello’s shopping list in case the deal with Dovizioso fell through.

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This year’s controversial Motegi GP was one strange race, and Casey Stoner who was tipped to win it and continue his winning streak suffered a big technical issue that left him third, while Andrea Dovizioso had jump start that psyched out several other riders.

Dani Pedrosa who last year lost his 2010 title chances in Japan due to a faulty throttle and picking up a fractured collarbone, instead took the first win ever for the Repsol Honda team at the Twin Ring and now is just one point behind Andrea Dovizioso (3rd) in the championship standing.

With three rounds to go, Stoner still leads the championship by 40 points over Jorge Lorenzo.

Dani Pedrosa - 1st

“I’m super happy with this victory, for the team that has been working so well, for HRC because this is the first win in Motegi with the Repsol Honda Team and for myself because it is the first time I’ve won here in MotoGP after doing so in 125cc and 250cc. The race was strange at the beginning with Stoner and Dovi really fast on the first few laps, they pulled away and then Casey had some problem and Andrea had a ride through for his jump start. I was alone in front with Lorenzo close, but I tried to put my head down and push every lap to pull away. I’m happy because at this track I’ve had a mix of good and bad results and some bad injuries, so to come back one year later and win in MotoGP is fantastic.”

Continue reading: Repsol Honda: Pedrosa super happy while Stoner and Dovizioso have different issues

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