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Andrea Dovizioso has no back-up plan in place despite his decision to “pull the plug” on the negotiations with his Ducati MotoGP team, according to his manager.
Dovizioso and Ducati were locked in an impasse over a contract extension beyond 2020 for much of the year, with Dovizioso having long made it clear that he would not budge on his preferred terms.
“He’s not willing to continue for the future, despite the possibility or not to have a proposal from Ducati” :: Andrea Dovizioso’s manager
And Ducati was ultimately informed on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring that Dovizioso was unwilling to continue with negotiations, and would therefore be vacating his ride after the 2020 season.
Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella told MotoGP’s television feed: “Andrea and I have discussed this for the last few weeks probably, and Andrea took the decision to simply not… he’s not willing to continue for the future, despite the possibility or not to have a proposal from Ducati.
“We communicated this to the team, and that’s it.”
Asked whether that meant Dovizioso had an agreement with another team for 2021, or a back-up plan of sorts, Battistella said: “No, not at all.
“Andrea wants to be focused 100% on racing, it’s a very important season, he wants to make sure he has all the chances to play the game with the best card possible.
“He decided simply to pull the plug. There is no other option at the moment” :: Simone Battistella
“It was becoming a little bit of a disruption to his focus, the story of the negotiation.
“He decided simply to pull the plug and say, ‘look, I’m going to race, this is what I want to do now, and that’s it’.
“There is no other option at the moment. He is determined to race for sure in the future, he is willing to race, he’s motivated, he’s fit, but at the moment we have no [plans].”
Dovizioso, who has finished as MotoGP championship runner-up three times for Ducati since joining the factory in 2013, currently sits fourth in the riders’ standings.
He trails leader Fabio Quartararo by 28 points, but will expect to claw it back over the Red Bull Ring double-header given Ducati’s previous history there.
Much of the MotoGP grid is already settled for 2021 if not beyond, and the only works ride that remains unfilled for next year – besides Dovizioso’s – is the second Aprilia alongside Aleix Espargaro, which is expected to go to Cal Crutchlow.
Ducati, for its part, said that it will “take some time to make some considerations” and take a decision on who replaces Dovizioso in the coming weeks.
