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In modern MotoGP having a test rider who is fast and able to understand the bike's responses to individual changes is increasingly important. That is why all the manufacturers are forming test teams with outright top names, following the example of Ducati with Michele Pirro in the not too distant past. Aleix Espargarò will join Honda at the end of the year in this role, his brother Pol is in KTM with a certain Dani Pedrosa, and Yamaha had relied on Cal Crutchlow.
The Briton, however, has injured his right hand and is having several complications that are keeping him away from the circuits. For this reason, the Iwata-based manufacturer decided to ask Andrea Dovizioso to return to the track to ride the M1. A first occasion there was in a sort of secret test at Mugello, but Dovi then also returned to the bike at Misano during the private test session in which Quartararo and Rins had also participated.
It seemed like it could simply be an one-off opportunity, but things are moving in another direction and Andrea Dovizioso might get back on the Yamaha in November at Jerez, in a private test session that Crutchlow is likely to miss. Maio Meregalli, Yamaha Team Manager, talked about this at the end of the collective test in Misano.
"We were lucky to convince Dovi to help us, because unfortunately Cal Crutchlow is not in shape - were Meregalli's words - and at that time we could not do any test with the development team. So we did a kind of secret test at Mugello with Dovizioso and the test went well. Then also the test we did here at Misano was good, positive. He worked very well. He really immersed himself in the project. He is very analytical. He seems more like an engineer than a rider! So the first impression was very, very good."
For Meregalli, there is a very good chance of seeing Dovi back on the M1. "Now we are planning another test in Jerez in November, where if Cal is not able to race, and it will be very unlikely that he will be, we have already asked Dovi to participate."
From our point of view, having Andrea Dovizioso in this role would be a not inconsiderable added value for Yamaha. His perfectionism is more than well-known in the paddock, as is his sensitivity in evaluating new things on the bike. However, there is also another aspect that gives one pause for thought, namely Dovizioso's long experience riding for Ducati in MotoGP. In particular, his experience riding the bike almost certainly equipped with the best V4 engine on the grid.
The M1 is currently the only bike on the grid to be powered by an inline four, and as much as engineer Marmorini is working on this powertrain to improve it, it was Fabio Quartararo himself who admitted in Aragon that Yamaha should consider the V4 option for the future. This future could take shape in 2027, with the new regulations in MotoGP, and having Dovizioso on the team right when it comes down to the ironing-out stage of this new engine configuration could be crucial.
