Those of you who've been watching MotoGP for a while will likely remember Andrea Dovizioso fondly and as the rider who gave Marc Marquez some of the best last-lap battles of the modern premiere class era.
At the end of the 2022 MotoGP season, we bid farewell to Dovizioso (Dovi) after his two-year stint with the Yamaha RNF MotoGP team. The now 38-year-old turned his attention to motocross after his MotoGP retirement and opened his own track. Continuing to ride motocross looks to have kept him as fit as he ever, but unfortunately, a recent motocross accident left him hospitalized with a head injury and broken collarbone.
Dovi wasn't ready to make an instant return to MotoGP as a test rider after he retired, but in one of his first public appearances after his motocross accident, the former 125cc world champion suggested the time might be right.
In a recent interview featured on the Mogogp.com platform, Dovi stated,
"I have no firm plans, but it's always nice when a manufacturer calls you to talk about the future. When I decided to retire back then, I wasn't ready to continue doing what I was doing at the time. I needed a break."
So, it would seem that Dovi has been contacted by a manufacturer about what we can only assume is a position as a test rider. And what a test rider he would be to have on your team. Although he didn't have a strong finish to his riding career in MotoGP, he's widely credited for helping Ducati develop its bike into the world-beater it is today.
The only question is: what manufacturer is in contact with him? Most of the teams have great test riders, and Alix Espargaró will also be on the market next season as a test rider. Undoubtedly, both Espargaró and Dovi would command high salaries as test riders, so it'd need to be a manufacturer that's willing to spend serious money to develop its bike.
Rumors are swelling that Pramac is edging ever closer to accepting an offer from Yamaha to supply the team with bikes for the 2025 season. But, if this offer falls through, Yamaha will have the funds to add another high-level test rider to the team, which Cal Crutchlow has been very vocal about wanting.
Or, if we want to be super speculative and out there, how great would it be to see BMW hire Dovi to help develop a GP bike for the 2027 season? OK, OK, I'll stop now... but it would be cool.
