Andrea Dovizioso admits he is not in the "right frame of mind" to race this weekend after the death of Marco Simoncelli.
Italian admits he's not in the "right frame of mind" to race
Andrea Dovizioso admits he is not in the "right frame of mind" to race in MotoGP's season finale at Valencia this weekend following the death of Marco Simoncelli in Malaysia.
Simoncelli, 24, was killed in an accident during the early stages of the race in Sepang less than two weeks ago, with the Italian losing control of his Honda and being struck by bikes ridden by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.
His death has cast a long shadow over the sport and Dovizioso, who is battling Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa for third in the championship, has spoken of his "emptiness" following the crash.
"I'm very sad for the loss of Marco. I'm going to Valencia not in the right frame of mind for a race. I will wear Marco's number 58 on the chest of my leathers, close to my heart, this is the only thing that counts," Dovizioso said in a team statement.
"I have raced with Marco throughout my whole career, he was 'the rival' and now that he is no longer with us, he has left a big void and I want to convert this feeling of emptiness to determination."
Good result
Valencia will be Dovizioso's last race for Honda before he joins the Tech3 Yamaha team next season, and the former 125cc world champion hopes that he can manage to go out on a high, although he does not like the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
"I hope to get a good result at Valencia mainly because it is important for me to finish third in the championship but I know the race will be difficult as it is not one of my favourite circuits and Dani is very strong there," he said.
"Also, the Grand Prix of Valencia is my last race with Honda and I really would like to crown these 10 years together with a good final race".
Meanwhile, new world champion Casey Stoner believes racing this weekend is the right way to honour Simoncelli's memory.
"It will be difficult to return to racing this weekend after Marco's terrible accident in Sepang but I think it is the best thing we can do to honour him," said the Australian.
"We know we all play a risky game and, even if compared to the past the safety of our sport is much better, unfortunately these kind of events still occur. My thoughts go out to his family and I hope that they are coping through this period."
Tribute
Simoncelli's Gresini Honda team will race this weekend in tribute to their former rider, running just the one bike for his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama.
However, 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo will not be present after failing to sufficiently recover from the finger injury he suffered at the Australia Grand Prix.
Edwards, who suffered a broken collarbone in the crash at Sepang, also sits out the finale, with American Superbike champion Josh Hayes set to step in at Tech3 for his MotoGP debut.
