The Sport Player: Andrea Dovizioso

Friday, February 11, 2011

Andrea Dovizioso

Andrea Dovizioso (born March 23, 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He won the 125cc World Championship in 2004.In 2001 Dovizioso won the 125cc European Championship and also competed in his first World Championship race at Mugello, in which he retired. In 2002 he competed in the 125cc World Championship with Team Scot Honda, finishing 16th in the final standings. His best results were two 9th places in Le Mans and Donington. He continued with the team in 2003, finishing 5th in the final standings and achieving four podium finishes. The 2004 season saw him pick up five victories and six other podium finishes on his way to winning the championship with 293 points.In 2005 Dovizioso moved to the 250cc class, continuing with Team Scot Honda. The season included five podium finishes and 3rd place in the overall standings. He also won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2006 he stayed with the team, who were now renamed as Humangest Racing. He won two races in Barcelona and Estoril and finished on the podium 11 times. He fought for the championship until the final race of the season, but had to settle for 2nd place behind Jorge Lorenzo. The 2007 season has seen him win two races in Istanbul and Donington and challenge once again for the championship, but he finished in 2nd place once again. On 15 September 2007, Dovizioso announced that he would be making the move up to the MotoGP class with his existing team in 2008. On his premier class debut, Dovizioso achieved a highly credible fourth place, at the season opener in Qatar, passing Valentino Rossi on the last lap. Since then, he has been one of the best and most consistent Honda riders, placing 4th and 5th several times, and achieving a 3rd place podium finish at the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. For the 2009 season, "Dovi" became an official Repsol Honda rider replacing Nicky Hayden. In July 2009, Dovizioso won his first race in MotoGP at the British MotoGP at Donington Park. On 2 October 2010, Dovizioso claimed his first pole position in MotoGP at the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi.