Dovizioso talks up Ducati move
Andrea Dovizioso keen as mustard to ride a Ducati in 2013: "I was able to adapt quickly to the Yamaha and I hope to do it with the Ducati."After scoring his fifth podium finish of 2012 on the satellite Yamaha Tech 3 bike at the Indianapolis MotoGP, Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso has virtually confirmed he will return to a factory ride in the form of Ducati in 2013.
Talking to Italian motoring media outlet GPOne after the Indianapolis race, Dovizioso wouldn't confirm his move to Ducati outright, but pretty much let the cat out of the bag.
"No one likes to change, you usually look for stability, but I do not care. I was able to adapt quickly to the Yamaha and I hope to do it with the Ducati."
Dovi's comments confirm his intention, if not the reality of backroom contract negotiations which are believed to hinge on whether Ducati owner Audi commits to a rigid development regime for the Ducati MotoGP prototype race bike.
The Ducati race bike is the worst performing factory-backed unit in the paddock and not since 2007 at the hands of Casey Stoner has it been consistently competitive.
Adding more weight to Dovi's rumoured move to Ducati is his potential 2013 team mate, Nicky Hayden, who explained to the media before the Indianapolis grand prix that he thinks Andrea Dovizioso would be the perfect partner.
"Yeah, if it's Dovi, I think he's probably the best choice out there. He's got good experience coming from me. I'm happy. He spent years at Honda, then now Yamaha, and now come there. I think his experience can be beneficial to our engineers.
Hayden also had words of warning for new Italian team mate.
"How he'll go on the Ducati, we'll have to wait and see. Of course, I think one of the good things, Dovi doesn't make a lot of mistakes when he rides. He's pretty precise, and that's important.
"Because if you make a lot of mistakes on the Japanese bike, when you get on the Ducati, that's just double (laughs). Well, maybe not double, but it's more. So, yeah, hopefully he can bring some knowledge and help us make a good bike if he does come. And I look forward to having a strong teammate."
It's only a matter of time before Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso make an official statement.
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