WithU RNF Racing Yamaha boss Razlan Razali has admitted that his newly-formed MotoGP team had “no real choice” in the decision to sign three-time championship runner-up Andrea Dovizioso for 2022.
This was due to a series of factors leading up to the demise of the Petronas Yamaha SRT team and the birth of his new squad from the ashes of the one he previously managed.
Dovizioso joined the team at the end of 2021 for five races, replacing Franco Morbidelli after he was promoted to the factory Yamaha squad in the aftermath of their high-profile split with Maverick Vinales.
Taking a year out last season after failing to agree terms with Ducati, he insisted from the start that it was a sabbatical, not retirement, meaning the chance to build a longer-term plan with the team was perfect for the Italian.
That’s because – according to Razali – they had little choice but to hire him given the odd circumstances at the end of last year – Yamaha’s desire for an experienced rider in the team, and new sponsor WithU’s want for a rider who shared their own nationality.
“We discussed this situation with Yamaha extensively last year,” the Malaysian explained. “I think we were pushed… not to say ‘pushed’, we were influenced in the situation because of Franky, because of Maverick.
“So the moment Franky was decided to go to the factory, we had to find a rider who can race with us for the next five races. We couldn’t have a different rider for [each of] the last five races.
“So the only rider that was available at that time was Andrea. And coincidentally, it was a rider that our sponsor liked as well. And of course, for Andrea he doesn’t want to just race for five races, he wanted a contract for 2022.
“So hence that arrangement comes into place, which fits in well with what our sponsors want. At that time we basically had no real choice because of the situation that the factory’s in and we’re in, in terms of finding replacement riders for the last five-six races.
“We couldn’t have Garrett [Gerloff] in one race, and then Jake Dixon, and then after that Cal Crutchlow, and then after that Cal Crutchlow couldn’t continue for the next five races, then we don’t know who else to put. I think Ramon [Forcada, crew chief] went through something like five riders in a season last year. So… we need stability, so the only rider that could give us that, with the potential to do well, is Andrea.”
Despite that, however – and despite Dovizioso’s own rather guarded feelings on the subject expressed last week at the team presentation – Razali is still insistent that the 35-year-old will be able to deliver solid results for the team in 2022 and isn’t just there to make up the numbers.
“I think the five races last year are very important for him,” he explained of Dovi’s time with his previous team, “for him to get out of being rusty, I believe. Yes, he was an on older bike, but I think it’s better to be on an older bike than coming into the [2022] season with no racing at all.
“Besides, understanding the bike – okay, although it’s an older bike – besides coming back to it after nearly a two-year break, he has basically understood how tough, how competitive the field is. So I think Andrea is experienced enough, smart enough to prepare himself over the winter season, to improve himself. I saw him at the launch and he looks great, he’s been training hard on any bikes he can get his hands on, especially motocross.
“So I think he’s smart and experienced enough, as I said, to prepare himself. He knows the competition out there and he’s on the same factory bike as the other two factory riders. In fact, he is a factory rider, in Yamaha’s books. And why I say that we want him to be in the top six – because a guy like Andrea, he doesn’t want to come into the championship, especially this year, being outside the top six, or outside the top 10.
“He needs to do something more than that. So I think realistically maybe the top six is something that we expect from him and he expects from himself as well. So yeah, that’s the situation.”
However, right now one thing seems clear – that while Dovizioso might be their big hope for 2022 as straight-from-Moto3 rookie Darryn Binder learns the ropes – he doesn’t seem to figure in Razali’s longer-term plans for the team as he sets out to again become Yamaha’s junior partners in developing young talent, just like it did with 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo.
“Priority goes to young talented riders,” he insisted when asked about the future. “That’s what we want to be, that’s our philosophy, is to develop young riders. However, we also learned from our experience especially last year that there must be a balance between experience and young riders.
“So, it will be the strategy moving forward to make sure there’s a balance of young and experienced riders. And… young riders, if you look, even when we started this team, there are many young riders who want to join us.
“I think a lot of riders out there, they would love to be on a Yamaha package, of course, because they saw what Fabio has done, they saw the journey of Fabio, et cetera. And of course, they want to be on a Yamaha package, and we are on it and privileged, but yes, if there’s a good young rider out there, we have no hesitation to try and get that rider.
And when asked by The Race how RNF’s preference for a ‘balanced’ line-up would impact its 2023 rider line-up discussions, Razali said: “Right now, looking at ’23, it’s a bit too far because we don’t know how everybody is performing. But then again, you know, you still have Darryn – if Darryn does well, it’s only natural for us to retain him, and then that’s the plan. By next year, if Darryn does well, he’s not considered as a rookie, he has one year experience, so we could continue with him and get a new rider, a rookie rider.”
