2023-11-15 17:58:52
Andrea Dovizioso did not miss the opportunity to visit the EICMA in Milan a few days ago, the largest motorcycle show in the world, an event he attended as official Yamaha collaborator -this year he competes with YZ machinery in several motocross races in Italy- and where he also took the opportunity to visit the stands of some of his most historic sponsors such as Alpinestars, a brand with which he maintains a very strong connection.
During his presence in Milan, Dovizioso spoke with the official portal Worldsbk.com about what happened this year in the World Superbike Championship, a championship that the Forli rider follows with great attention despite the fact that, in the past,declined all the proposals that came to him to compete in WorldSBK after his goodbye to MotoGP.
The 37-year-old former driver has really enjoyed the battles on the track that they have offered us this year Álvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu; The Turk has been unable to follow the Spaniard in most races, but when he has managed to stand up to him, both have given the best show of the year and have served as an incentive for a championship in which Bautista is demonstrating overwhelming superiority..
“It was very strange and also strange to see two such opposite drivers fighting”‘Dovi’ commented on the heads-up between Álvaro and Toprak. “Opposites because the bikes are very different and so is the riding style. So seeing that battle was very strange in my opinion, it was a fight between two great talents. It was nice. I’m happy for Álvaro because I know him very well, the good thing what is it, and I think he has been one of the best MotoGP riders with his riding style“, cries the Italian.
About Razgatlioglu, Andrea admits “never having fought with him” within a circuit, but there is no doubt in his mind that “Has a lot of talent” and also considers him “good person”, convinced that “With BMW, in two years, Toprak can change the situation a little and become competitive with them. I don’t know if BMW will be good enough to step up and fight for the championship, but they have a good factory to push. If it works, I don’t know. We’ll see that in the future.”
Razgatlioglu’s move to BMW will not be the only notable change for WorldSBK 2024; Jonathan Rea will face his first campaign with YamahAfter having won everything with Kawasaki since 2015, a relationship that, in Dovizioso’s opinion, will also be successful: “I want Rea to do well with Yamaha. I don’t know if Jerez was a real test because Yamaha did very well during that round. I don’t know if the bike works well on that track. I think he has to test it on a different circuit to understand the true potential of the Yamaha. I think they have to work a little to really take a step forward and fight with Ducati.”
Dovizioso, a rider who has already passed through three different factories in MotoGP, sees the change that Jonathan Rea has made as logical, especially because the Northern Irishman “I no longer had a feeling with Kawasaki” believes the one from Forli. “I don’t know how competitive the bike is, but the feeling was not as good as in the past for Rea to fight for the championship, so he needed a change.”
Finally, Dovizioso also praised the Superbike debut of his former teammate at Ducati during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Andrea Iannone. The man from Vasto completed his first test a few days ago with the Ducati Panigale V4 R of Team Go Eleven, showing that, despite having been away from the circuits for four years after his positive doping test, he can still be very competitive.
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Speaking about Iannone, Dovizioso believes that his arrival “it’s good for the championship” and recognize the “talent” that his former teammate treasures, that’s why he says thate “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was very fast. Staying ahead and fighting to be at the top will be difficult because the level is high, and I don’t know how difficult it will be to come back after four years. I’m interested to see how it goes“concludes Dovizioso.
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