Andrea Dovizioso to retire from MotoGP after Misano, replaced by Crutchlow

15-time MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso has announced he will retire from MotoGP after the San Marino GP at the beginning of the September, with Yamaha tester Cal Crutchlow returning to replace him.

After taking a sabbatical in 2021 following 13 consecutive seasons in MotoGP’s premier class, the three-time championship runner-up made his comeback this season with satellite Yamaha team RNF, but the year so far has been a struggle.

Having taken six podiums on a Yamaha with Tech3 in 2012, the Italian was hoping to replicate similar form, but his best result so far is 11th Portimao, with the Italian finding it hard to adapt to the RNF’s customer YZR-M1 machine.

During his peak years riding for the works Ducati team, Dovizioso was the only rider who could hold a light to Marc Marquez, finishing runner-up to the Spaniard three times from 2017 to 2019.

Now however the Italian has decided to call time on a successful – but ultimately title-less – MotoGP career.

“In 2012, the experience with the Iwata manufacturer in MotoGP had been very positive for me and since then I have always thought that, sooner or later, I would have liked to have an official contract with Yamaha,” said Dovizioso. “This possibility presented itself, actually in a somewhat daring way, during 2021. I decided to give it a try because I strongly believed in this project and in the possibility of doing well.”

“Unfortunately, in recent years the MotoGP has changed profoundly. The situation is very different since then: I have never felt comfortable with the bike, and I have not been able to make the most of its potential despite the precious and continuous help from the team and the whole of Yamaha. The results were negative, but beyond that, I still consider it a very important life experience.