Andrea Dovizioso

Andrea Dovizioso (born 23 March 1986) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September. Dovizioso was the 125cc World Champion, but is best known for his time with the Ducati Team in the MotoGP class, finishing championship runner-up to Marc Márquez for three consecutive seasons in , and .

Dovizioso is one of the most successful modern MotoGP riders with 15 victories and 62 podiums. Dovizioso first came to prominence by winning the 125 cc World Championship in . He then finished third in the 250 cc World Championship in and was twice a runner-up to Jorge Lorenzo in and . He made his debut in MotoGP in 2008 and immediately finished fifth in the standings as the top satellite rider earning a move to the Factory Honda team in 2009. In his three seasons with Repsol Honda, he scored 15 podiums, including a maiden MotoGP win at Donington Park, and had a highest championship position of third in . He moved to Monster Yamaha Tech 3 in and finished in fourth position getting six podiums which earned him a move to Factory Ducati team in 2013. In , Dovizioso recorded his first win in seven years in Malaysia. In 2017, he found the extra pace needed to challenge for the title with six wins throughout the season, but Marc Marquez, who also had six wins, clinched the title in the final round in Valencia. The subsequent 2018 and 2019 seasons proved less successful, even though he won six combined races and finished runner-up yet again to Marquez. Dovizioso left Ducati after the 2020 season due to a breakdown in relations with the team.

Dovizioso finished within the top-five in ten of his first 13 MotoGP seasons and is considered one of the best MotoGP riders to not win the MotoGP World Championship. He is the only rider in history to win a MotoGP race in three different decades – 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. He is nicknamed 'the Professor' due to his calculated riding approach.

Career

Early career Born in Forlimpopoli, son of Antonio Dovizioso, a Sicilian motorcycle racer, Dovizioso won the 125cc Italian Aprilia Challenge in 2000. In 2001, Dovizioso won the 125cc European Championship and also competed in his first World Championship race at Mugello, in which he retired. During that year he worked with Guido Mancini, a former rider and mechanic who, in the past, had worked with Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi. A documentary film about Mancini's career, released in 2016 by director Jeffrey Zani, tells the story of that racing season.

125cc World Championship In 2002, Dovizioso competed in the 125cc World Championship with Team Scot Honda, finishing 16th in the final standings. His best results were two ninth places in Le Mans and Donington. He continued with the team in 2003, finishing fifth in the final standings and achieving four podium finishes. The 2004 season saw him pick up five victories and six other podium finishes on his way to winning the championship with 293 points.

250cc World Championship

In 2005, Dovizioso moved to the 250cc class, continuing with Team Scot Honda. The season included five podium finishes and third place in the overall standings. He also won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2006, he remained with the team, who were now renamed as Humangest Racing. He won two races in Barcelona and Estoril and finished on the podium 11 times. He fought for the championship until the final race of the season, but had to settle for second place behind Jorge Lorenzo. The 2007 season saw him win two races in Istanbul and Donington and challenge once again for the championship, but he finished in second place once again.

MotoGP World Championship Scot Racing Team (2008)

On 15 September 2007, Dovizioso announced that he would be making the move up to the MotoGP class with his existing team in 2008. On his premier class debut, Dovizioso achieved a highly credible fourth place, at the season opener in Qatar, passing Valentino Rossi on the final lap. Throughout the season, he was one of the most consistent Honda riders, placing fourth and fifth several times, and achieving a third place podium finish at the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. Dovizioso finished fifth in the final standings.

Repsol Honda Team (2009–2011)

For the season, Dovizioso became an official Repsol Honda rider replacing Nicky Hayden and partnering Spain's Dani Pedrosa. In July 2009, Dovizioso won his first race in MotoGP at the British Grand Prix in wet conditions at Donington Park. Despite otherwise consistent points finishes, Dovizioso ended up with fewer points than in his début season in the class, finishing sixth in the final standings.

The podium after the 2010 Italian Grand Prix; Dovizioso (right) finished third, behind Jorge Lorenzo (left), and race-winner Dani Pedrosa (centre). Dovizioso had a strong start to his second season with the Repsol Honda team, picking up a podium in the season-opening race in Qatar. Three more podiums followed early in the year before his results tailed off mid-season. Despite this, Dovizioso consistently collected points finishes and claimed his first pole position in MotoGP at the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi. He went on to finish second in the race after challenging for the race win, equalling his result from the British Grand Prix. Dovizioso again finished second in the following race in Malaysia. Dovizioso retired in Australia, and concluded the season with third in Portugal and fifth in Valencia to finish fifth in the final championship standings.

Dovizioso remained with Repsol Honda for a third consecutive season in , riding in a three-bike team alongside Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Dovizioso started the season well, with a fourth place in Qatar after a race-long battle with Marco Simoncelli. At Jerez, Dovizioso experienced severe tyre wear and had to make a tyre change on his way to 12th place in the damp conditions. He took fourth place in Portugal, with a late-race pass on Valentino Rossi, before Le Mans saw Dovizioso's best performance of the season to that point. Having circulated in sixth for a portion of the race, he was helped by the collision between Pedrosa and Simoncelli, which saw Pedrosa crash out and Simoncelli given a ride-through penalty. He then passed Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi en route to a second-place finish. Fourth place followed in Catalunya, before another second place in Great Britain, having started fifth and led the first few laps before being overtaken by teammate Stoner. Dovizioso extended his podium run to four races after third in the Netherlands and second at his home race at Mugello.

Dovizioso finished second for the fourth time in 2011, in the Czech Republic; holding off pressure from Simoncelli. Two fifth places followed, before Dovizioso's only retirement of the season in Aragon, after crashing out. Dovizioso finished fifth in Japan, despite a ride-through penalty for jumping the start. Dovizioso finished third in Australia and Valencia, while the Malaysian race was cancelled after the death of Simoncelli in the first attempt to run the race.

Dovizioso ended the season third behind Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner, but decided to move to the Tech3 Yamaha team for the season, alongside Cal Crutchlow on a one-year deal. He moved to the team after rejecting the offer of a satellite Honda bike, after Repsol Honda reverted to two bikes – for Stoner and Pedrosa – for the 2012 season.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 (2012) Dovizioso achieved top-five placings in each of his first three starts for Tech3, with fifth places in Qatar and at Jerez, as well as a fourth place at the Portuguese Grand Prix. A seventh place followed at Le Mans, before his first podium of the season – a third place – at the Catalan Grand Prix. After missing out on points at the British Grand Prix due to a crash, Dovizioso finished third or fourth in each of the next six races – with four podiums – to maintain fourth place in the championship ahead of teammate Crutchlow.

Dovizioso won the Supermoto-Race on SIC Supermoto Day together with Mauno Hermunen, a race in honour of the memory of his compatriot Marco Simoncelli, who died in a race crash in 2011.

Ducati Team (2013–2020)

Following Valentino Rossi's move back to the factory Yamaha team, Dovizioso was signed by Ducati to replace Rossi in their factory team. Dovizioso had a difficult season on an under-performing Ducati Desmosedici, with a best place of fourth in wet conditions at the French Grand Prix. He ended the season eighth, behind Stefan Bradl and just ahead of teammate Nicky Hayden.

Dovizioso was joined at Ducati by his former Tech3 teammate Cal Crutchlow, reuniting the riders that raced with Tech3 in . The season started in a positive way for Dovizioso, as he obtained three top-five results in the first four races, including a third place in the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas and claimed his first pole position with Ducati in Japan, his first pole position since . He ended the season fifth in the riders' championship.

Dovizioso remained at Ducati for a third successive season, where he was joined by fellow Italian rider, Andrea Iannone, who moved from Pramac Racing. He took the first pole position of the season in Qatar, out-qualifying the rest of the field by 0.2 seconds. In the race, he started well and battled with the factory Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. He finished in second place behind Rossi, taking his first podium since the Dutch TT in June 2014. Teammate Iannone finished just behind in third place, giving the factory team their first double podium finish since the 2010 Aragon Grand Prix. In the following two races, he finished in second position. However, Dovizioso's form took a huge dip as he struggled with mechanical and crashes. Having scored 4 podiums from the first 5 races, he only added 1 more to his total for the rest of the season. He finished seventh in the championship.

Dovizioso started the season strongly in Qatar again, finishing second, but was taken out by his teammate in the Argentine Grand Prix when he was second, he ultimately limped over to finish 13th. He was taken out by Pedrosa in Austin while 3rd and had a water pump failure in Jerez to leave him well down the standings. Around this time it was announced that Jorge Lorenzo would be joining Ducati for 2017. A few weeks later, Ducati announced that Dovizioso was to stay at Ducati to partner Lorenzo, while Iannone signed a contract with the Suzuki team. In the inaugural Austrian Grand Prix, where Ducati were favourites to win, he finished second to his teammate Iannone, which left disappointed. However he finished the season strongly and took only his second MotoGP win in the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, his first win in seven years. He finished the season fifth in the championship.

Once again, Dovizioso started the season by finishing second in Qatar, this time to new factory Yamaha rider, Maverick Vinales. He was taken out again in Argentina, this time by Aleix Espargaro, before finishing sixth, fifth, and fourth in Austin, Jerez and Le Mans, however Ducati was pretty far behind the winner in those races. At the Italian Grand Prix, Dovizioso looked strong throughout practice and qualified third behind Vinales and Rossi. He controlled the pace in the race, didn't let Vinales get away and ultimately passed him and opened up a gap to win the race, becoming the first Italian rider to win the Italian Grand Prix on a Ducati motorcycle. It was also his first dry MotoGP victory. Seven days later in Catalunya, he astonishingly won the race again, having started seventh, ahead of Marquez, Pedrosa and his teammate. Back to back wins for Dovizioso put him only seven points behind Vinales at the top of the standings, though he had talked down the possibility of a title fight. With Vinales crashing in Assen, he took the lead of the championship. However, a series of mediocre results in Assen, Sachsenring and Brno put him down to third in the standings. He again took back-to-back wins in Austria and Great Britain, retaking the lead as Marquez retired due to blown engine. At the San Marino grand prix, he finished third and a seventh position at Aragon saw him lose the title lead to Marc Marquez once again. At the Japanese GP however, he took his fifth win of the season after passing Marquez on the final lap, reducing the deficit to 11 points. In the final round in Valencia Dovizioso struggled, qualifying only 9th. Despite getting a tow from teammate Jorge Lorenzo, he ultimately crashed out of the race from fourth place with five laps remaining. He finished the season second, losing the world championship battle to Marc Marquez, with total of 6 wins.

Dovizioso took victory in the season opener in Qatar, beating Marc Márquez to the line. In total, he won four races in the 2018 MotoGP season (Qatar, Czech Republic, San Marino, and Valencia) with a total of nine podium finishes, ultimately finishing the championship as runner-up to Márquez for the second season in a row, with 245 points.

Dovizioso won at Qatar for the second year in a row and in Austria with a final corner overtake on Marc Márquez. He suffered a large accident at the British Grand Prix, where he was unable to avoid the low-siding Fabio Quartararo in front of him, running over the French rider's bike, sending Dovizioso airborne and falling head-first to the ground heavily. The accident caused him to have memory loss temporarily, which he would fully recover from. He scored 9 podium finishes in the season, equalling his tally from the previous season. With 269 points – his highest career tally to date – Dovizioso finished second to Márquez for the third consecutive season.

In 2020, Dovizioso remained with Ducati. He achieved a third place podium finish at the season opener in Spain. Citing the deterioration of the working relationship between himself and Ducati – particularly team principal Gigi Dall'Igna – and Ducati's lack of commitment to a new contract, Dovizioso made a surprise announcement ahead of qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix that he would leave Ducati at the end of the season. He went on to win the race the following day, in what would turn out to be his 14th and final victory with the Italian manufacturer. He finished the season in fourth place overall with 135 points, as the top Ducati rider for the fifth consecutive season.

Sabbatical By the end of 2020, with no other immediate prospects, Dovizioso elected to take a sabbatical year in 2021 with his sights set on returning to racing for 2022. In early 2021, he was announced as a test rider for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, with hopes of a potential race seat with the manufacturer for the following season, and he completed a number of test days.

Ultimately, the 2022 seat went to Spanish rider Maverick Viñales, who started with Aprilia early in September 2021, closing the door for Dovizioso with the Noale manufacturer.

Return with Petronas Yamaha SRT (2021) Dovizioso was reported to have joined Petronas Yamaha by the British GP weekend, after Maverick Viñales left the Factory Yamaha Team and went to Aprilia Racing Team Gresini for the rest of 2021. That was later confirmed in the week leading up to the San Marino Grand Prix. Dovizioso will join Valentino Rossi for the rest of 2021, replacing Franco Morbidelli who moves up to the Factory team.

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team (2022) Dovisioso returned to the rebranded WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP satellite team, partnering with Darryn Binder. He was replaced by Cal Crutchlow after retiring from MotoGP at the end of the San Marino Grand Prix.

Yamaha Motor Racing test (2024–) Dovizioso again tried out a MotoGP motorbike in a private test at the Misano Circuit on 20–21 August 2024. He was officially appointed by Yamaha as a substitute test rider, replacing Cal Crutchlow who was absent due to injury.

In 2025, Dovizioso was called as a test racer by Yamaha to add to their racers on the track in Sepang test. Dovizioso's reappearance at Yamaha comes after he spent time testing their YZR-M1 in the second half of last season, replacing the injured Cal Crutchlow.

On 19 June 2025, Dovizioso signed a new contract with Yamaha as a test rider until 2027. Not only that, he also took on a new role as Rider Performance Advisor, a strategic position to analyze the performance of Yamaha's main riders and convey it to team engineers. Previously, Dovizioso had taken part in Yamaha's V4 engine project and had tested the new prototype in a private test at the Catalunya Circuit some time ago.

Auto racing career Dovizioso made his debut in auto racing when he participated in 2016 Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Circuit Ricardo Tormo round, driving a Lamborghini Huracán. He finished fourth in the first race in the Pro-Am class and won the second race.

It was announced in May 2019 that Dovizioso would take part in the Misano round of the 2019 DTM championship, driving an Audi RS5 Turbo DTM for W Racing Team (WRT). He raced as a substitute driver for Pietro Fittipaldi, who was briefly loaned to Team Rosberg from WRT as Jamie Green was absent due to appendicitis recovery. He qualified 15th for the first race and finished 12th, and started from 14th to finish 15th in the second race.

Motocross accident In April 2024, Dovizioso suffered a motocross accident on his private circuit in Arezzo Province. He reportedly suffered a head injury in a motocross accident and was immediately flown to Careggi Hospital in Florence. Dovizioso suffered a head injury in the incident but it was not life-threatening. He regained consciousness and the results of the CT scan at the hospital were 'negative'. However, he was diagnosed with a broken right collarbone and further broken bones.

Career statistics

CIV 125cc Championship

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 Pos Pts 2001 Aprilia MIS1 MON VAL MIS2 MIS3 4th 50

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Pts 2001 125cc Aprilia JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR VAL PAC AUS MAL RIO NC 0 2002 125cc Honda JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL 16th 42 2003 125cc Honda JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL 5th 157 2004 125cc Honda RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED RIO GER GBR CZE POR JPN QAT MAL AUS VAL 1st 293 2005 250cc Honda SPA POR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE JPN MAL QAT AUS TUR VAL 3rd 189 2006 250cc Honda SPA QAT TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE MAL AUS JPN POR VAL 2nd 272 2007 250cc Honda QAT SPA TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER CZE RSM POR JPN AUS MAL VAL 2nd 260 2008 MotoGP Honda QAT SPA POR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER USA CZE RSM INP JPN AUS MAL VAL 5th 174 2009 MotoGP Honda QAT JPN SPA FRA ITA CAT NED USA GER GBR CZE INP RSM POR AUS MAL VAL 6th 160 2010 MotoGP Honda QAT SPA FRA ITA GBR NED CAT GER USA CZE INP RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS POR VAL 5th 206 2011 MotoGP Honda QAT SPA POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER USA CZE INP RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 3rd 228 MotoGP Yamaha QAT SPA POR FRA CAT GBR NED GER ITA USA INP CZE RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL 4th 218 MotoGP Ducati QAT AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER USA INP CZE GBR RSM ARA MAL AUS JPN VAL 8th 140 MotoGP Ducati QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER INP CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 5th 187 MotoGP Ducati QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER INP CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 7th 162 MotoGP Ducati QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER AUT CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 5th 171 MotoGP Ducati QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 2nd 261 MotoGP Ducati QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL 2nd 245 MotoGP Ducati QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL 2nd 269 MotoGP Ducati SPA ANC CZE AUT STY RSM EMI CAT FRA ARA TER EUR VAL POR 4th 135 MotoGP Yamaha QAT DOH POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED STY AUT GBR ARARSMAMEEMIALRVAL 24th 12 MotoGP Yamaha QAT INA ARG AME POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED GBR AUT RSM ARA JPN THA AUS MAL VAL 21st 15

Complete Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe results Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2022 Lamborghini Squadra Corse Huracán LP620-2 Super Trofeo Pro-Am MON1 MON2 SIL1 SIL2 PAU1 PAU2 SPA1 SPA2 NUR1 NUR2 VAL1 VAL2 NA NA NA NA

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts 2019 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi RS5 Turbo DTM HOC1 HOC2 ZOL1 ZOL2 MIS1 MIS2 NOR1 NOR2 ASS1 ASS2 BRH1 BRH2 LAU1 LAU2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 19th 0