Andrea Dovizioso may have fractured his collarbone while training on his MX bike last Jamuary, but that slight and painful setback hasn’t dampened his love for motocross as the Italian shows as he recently picked up a Yamaha Rinaldi Research and Development (YRRD) kit for his 2012 YZ250F.
Dovizioso started off as minicross rider, but then switched to pocket bikes before scaling the competive ladder to MotoGP and has often admitted that if hadn’t tried his luck in road racing he’d would have continued with MX, (check out this training video after the jump) and he often shows off his talent during Motocross charity events in Italy.
Not only does Dovi train with his new Yamaha YZ250F, he’s also a huge fan and has been a regular at MXGPs in the last few years, once famously driving several hundred kilometres the day after the TT Assen to be seen at Teutschenthal for the Motocross Grand Prix of Germany.
The Italian does not plan to stop his spectating habits: “For sure I want to go again! I have to check the calendar and see where the dates are good but, when I can, I will get there.
For me it is great to be with Yamaha because I can really enjoy the two sports I love most in my life; to be able to ride motocross and be able to race in MotoGP is a dream.
” Last week he travelled to Parma to the factory Monster Energy Yamaha MX Team’s workshop managed by Team Owner, former world champion and motocross legend Michele Rinaldi.
“I’m really passionate about the world of motocross and I try to get to see the world championship events as much as possible.
When I first tried the ‘12 YZ250F I liked it a lot because I found the chassis allowed me to be very precise and it felt very stable on the front end.
I am very excited to try the special cylinder head, camshafts and other YRRD bits because you always want a little bit more power on a 250.
The YZ250F is enough for me though in a training moto of thirty minutes and regular intensity.
I love to jump – not like supercross, but really big jumps – and riding in the sand is OK but I don’t have the training to have complete control in this terrain, ” said Dovizioso.
As he picked up the package of YRRD racing components that augment the performance and potential of the famed YZ technology ‘Dovi’ admitted that his love of dirt-bikes extends to something beyond fun.
“I can’t train as much as I want with a motocross bike but when I am home I reckon I am out once a week.
I do most of my physical training in the gym but it [MX] helps.
Riding motocross is something else completely to a street bike, but I see a difference in the riders who don’t train with motocross in terms of their feeling.
It helps you be more sensitive to the race bike sliding.
Overall though I love the whole thing, looking after the bike, getting it in the van, riding with friends.
”
