Andrea Dovizioso is currently one of the most successful MotoGP riders with 13 Grand Prix victories and 53 podium finishes to his name. We know how much he loves his Desmosedici GP and how brilliantly Ducati has tuned it to suit his riding style. Surprisingly, on June 8 and 9, we won’t be seeing him race on the Ducati but in an Audi RS 5 DTM.
The Italian MotoGP star will race for Audi in the DTM on June 8 and 9. He has already made himself familiar with the Audi RS 5 DTM at Audi’s Competence Center Motorsport in Neuburg a. d. Donau on Tuesday following the DTM season opener.
“I’m delighted that in Andrea Dovizioso we managed to get a real superstar to race as a guest in the DTM. MotoGP riders are true heroes in Italy. Andrea hails from the Misano area, won the Motorcycle Grand Prix there last year and is going to attract many additional fans. We’re already extremely excited to see how he’s going to fare in his DTM debut. That he’s taking time out for the DTM between two MotoGP races is fantastic and not to be taken for granted at all. I’d like to particularly thank Ducati’s CEO Claudio Domenicali and Luigi Dall’Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse, who agreed to this guest entry. That’s a big thing for the DTM and for motorsport in general.” – Dieter Gass, Head of Audi Motorsport.
Speaking on this opportunity, Dovizioso says, “I love cars and I feel lucky to be able to race with the Audi RS 5 DTM. It’s tough to find the time to prepare for it during the MotoGP season but I am really looking forward to compete in such a high-level context such as the DTM. The car is amazing, but it’s a different challenge compared with my Desmosedici GP and I need to get prepared, so I did many laps in the simulator before stepping into it for the first time. Misano is a special track for every Italian driver and the place where I scored an incredible win last year so I’m very excited and thankful for this opportunity.”
Dovizioso will be replacing Pietro Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi, who instantly scored a point and set a new DTM lap record in his DTM debut at Hockenheim, will have to skip Misano due to a calendar conflict with the Formula One Grand Prix in Canada. Dovi will race in the WRT Team Audi Sport customer team at Misano.
We wish all the good luck to Dovi for his upcoming MotoGP races as well as his debut DTM race!
