MotoGP rumour: Dovizioso to abdicate, Dixon to succeed him

We already heard something to the effect at the start of the year and the voices have only become more insistent… It seems that Andrea Dovizioso is on the verge of leaving MotoGP, leaving room on the Yamaha RNF WithU team for a Moto2 rider by the name of Jake Dixon, who reached the podium last time out at Austin.

Dovizioso, his MotoGP shine has become matte

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We’d like to see Andrea continue to be honest, but with different results. In the four 2022 races run so far, Dovizioso has scored a best result of fourteenth at Lusail. He failed to reach the line at Mandalika, finished twentieth at Termas and scored just one point in Texas.

Too little, right?! For someone who was "used" to scoring podiums and wins in the top class. We’re talking about a rider who won the 125 title in 2004, was strong in 250, and who came close to a reigning class title too. Since leaving Ducati, the Italian has struggled, competing in just five races in 2021, with results similar to those of this year.

Today, he's almost at the back of the field, but that's not the only problem. It appears that number 04 struggles to reach the end of the race, or rather he's not at the same level, physically speaking, as his young rivals. Perhaps it's not a matter of age, but the fact he missed two thirds of the 2021 season. Riders pay dearly if they take a break from MotoGP.

BT Sport likes Dixon, and so do the Brits

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The British are lacking a worthy representative in the world championship. We’re talking results and prestige, not skill. We know Scotsman John McPhee is an excellent rider, but he doesn’t race in MotoGP. And we don’t know whether he ever will.

Considering that the plans of BT Sport don’t allow for certain reasoning, action is required, with the selection of a rider from the same paddock. Jake Dixon is an intelligent choice - he’s 26 and already had a taste of MotoGP in 2021, racing for the same team that would welcome him back now.

What was Petronas Yamaha is now RNF WithU. But while the sponsor has changed, the M1 remains the same. Hiring the young native of Dover is a duty as well as a necessity - he scored his first podium in Austin, crossing the line third. We’re talking Moto2, the category in which he currently competes. Otherwise, the other strong Brits are in SBK.

Is the Mugello GP to be the last for Dovi?

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And so to the rumour that led us to write this piece. We repeat that we don’t know for sure that this will happen, but we cannot exclude it: Dovizioso will compete until the Mugello round before leaving MotoGP. It would be a shame but, as we’ve said, a rider like him should be fighting for the podium, or what’s the point?!

In his place, Dixon. Who, from what we can tell, already knows something. Or at least that’s the feeling we get. The Brit has the face of someone who realises: "I’m finally fast in Moto2, do I really have to change category?"

He is getting on well with the GASGAS Aspar team, a high-level squad with strong bikes and technicians. Perhaps the title is out of reach, but perhaps not, the Union Jack will continue to fly in the middle class, unless he gets ‘removed’ and taken to Yamaha. Many would be pleased, from BT Sport to the fans at Silverstone.

Translated by Heather Watson

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