The pre-event announcements for the Italian GP seem to keep rolling in. First, it was Dani Pedrosa re-signing with Repsol Honda for two years; then, we got word that Maverick Viñales had done the same with the Movistar Yamaha team.
Now, we get news from Ducati Corse that Andrea Dovizioso will be with the Italian team for the next two years, with Andrea Iannone making his departure from Ducati, as well.
With this news, good money in the MotoGP Silly Season betting pool would place Iannone in the ECSTAR Suzuki garage for the foreseeable future, but time will tell on that speculation.
This season’s musings have been mercurial regarding whom the paddock thought would retain his seat at Ducati. Good money at the start of the season was on Iannone, as he was proving to be the faster of the two Andreas.
However, Iannone’s on-track reliability is rumored to have been his Achilles heel, especially after taking out his teammate during an impossible overtaking maneuver at the Argentina GP.
With Jorge Lorenzo headed to Ducati Corse for the next two years, Ducati’s priorities for its needs in a second rider may have changed, with Dovizioso’s reliability and development skills becoming considerable assets for the team going forward.
Talking about Ducati’s decision to pick Dovizioso over Iannone, Gigi Dall’Igna said the following:
“It’s never easy to take a decision like this one, especially when you have two great riders like the two Andreas in your team. We are very happy that Dovizioso has agreed to stay with us for the next two years, and together with him we can continue the successful work we began four years ago in order to reach the ambitious aims we have set for ourselves.”
“We are sorry for Andrea Iannone, who at the end of the season will no longer be a part of the team. Andrea has carried out an important job in these years and has made a significant contribution to the development of the Ducati Desmosedici GP. For this reason we would like to thank him and we will provide him with our maximum commitment in the next rounds of the championship, in order to obtain the prestigious results that are for sure within his reach.”
Uniquely, Ducati Corse included a statement from Andrea Iannone in its announcement, which is both noteworthy and unusual at the same time. One gets the sense that Ducati is sad to see Iannone depart the same.
“Obviously I am sorry that my time with Ducati will draw to a close at the end of this season, but I am grateful to the Bologna manufacturer for the opportunity it has given me in the last few years,” said Andrea Iannone.
“I made my MotoGP debut with Ducati and I have grown up with them, always succeeding in improving my level of performance. In the remaining races I will give my all, as I always do, because I am convinced that thanks to the competitiveness of the Desmosedici GP we can achieve some great results.”
Source: Ducati Corse
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