Italian MotoGP racer Andrea Dovizioso has renewed his contract with Ducati for the years 2019-20. Currently, he is in ninth place with respect to world rankings in MotoGP. The French GP proved a tough race for the Italian racer as he lost the front end of his GP18 bike at the La Chapelle corner.
He joined Ducati in 2013, from Repsol Honda, he grabbed two podium finishes and finished 2014 season in fifth position overall. 2015 season was better than the previous, as he grabbed the second position three times and finished on podium at Le Mans and Silverstone to finish seventh in the overall standings. 2016 turned out to be a good year for the Ducati rider, as he scored a number of podiums, sealed the season with a win at Sepang Circuit and finished fifth overall.
The Italian racer has nine MotoGP victories and 43 podiums in his MotoGP career. In 2017 alone, he won six races (Italy, UK, Catalunya, Autria, Japan and Malaysia) and was the runner-up for 2017 season. Andrea Dovizioso won the 2018 MotoGP season opener in Qatar. This is his 11th successive season in MotoGP.
For teammate Jorge Lorenzo, this is the second season for him with Ducati. There are rumours in the paddock that Lorenzo will not be racing for the Italian manufacturer for the 2019 season, but there is no official announcement regarding where he will be moving next. Lorenzo has not had a single victory in 21 races for Ducati. In 2016, he won the race in Valencia which was his final race for Yamaha before he moved to Ducati.
On the extension of his contract with the Italian bike maker, Andrea Dovizioso said,“I believe that together we have done a fantastic job so far, but it’s not enough: we want more and I’m happy that we have reached a deal that allows us to work with peace of mind to obtain better results. We’ve got two and a half seasons ahead of us, all the time we need to try and bring home the world title, which is our aim. I’m very pleased with the support that I have received from many people over the last few days: I could never have imagined staying so many years in Ducati, and ours is really a great story.”