Dovizioso to hitch Yamaha for Sepang shakedown take a look at

Yamaha will have the ability to rely on the expertise of 15-time MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso on this week’s shakedown take a look at on the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.

Concession producers Yamaha and Honda, MotoGP rookies Ai Ogura, Somkiat Chantra and Fermin Aldeguer, and take a look at riders from Ducati, KTM and Aprilia will take to the Malaysian monitor from 31 January to 2 February for the primary pre-season take a look at of the yr.

Yamaha had already introduced that its race riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins can be current in Sepang for the take a look at, together with new take a look at rider Augusto Fernandez.

The latter has been recruited to the take a look at crew following his departure from Tech3 KTM in 2024 and fills an vital void at Yamaha, with Cal Crutchlow having been out of motion since struggling a hand damage. Few imagine the Briton will have the ability to return aboard a MotoGP bike once more.

However the massive information is that the trio will likely be joined by former grand prix star Dovizioso, as Yamaha tries each trick within the e-book to return to successful methods.

On Tuesday, Dovizioso uploaded a video on Instagram, displaying how he was coaching to return to the M1 on the demanding and the bodily exhausting Sepang circuit.

Though the Italian is greatest recognized for his time at Ducati, throughout which he challenged then-Honda rider Marc Marquez for the championship, he did full 19 races with Yamaha’s Petronas SRT crew in 2021-22 earlier than calling time on his profession.

Since his retirement from lively competitors, Dovizioso has already been working behind the scenes with Yamaha, enjoying a number one position within the growth of its new V4 engine.

Manufacturing facility rider Rins revealed on Motorsport Community’s ‘Por Orejas’ podcast in December that Yamaha was attributable to run the brand new engine for the primary time in December, however couldn’t get it constructed and assembled in time for the take a look at.

With Dovizioso now being included in Yamaha’s Sepang line-up, there’s a severe chance that the brand new V4 motor will lastly hit the monitor this week.

The Japanese producer has maintained a lot secrecy about its V4 challenge and it was solely final yr that it admitted its existence. With the Sepang shakedown operating behind closed doorways, just a few days previous to the primary full-fledged take a look at of 2025 on the identical monitor subsequent week, Yamaha will have the ability to run the engine with out attracting a lot consideration.

Nonetheless, Yamaha doesn’t anticipate to race with the brand new V4 engine till at the least the second half of the 2025 season. At current, it’s the solely producer in MotoGP that makes use of an in-line four-cylinder motor, with all its rivals constructing engines to the ‘V’ configuration.