Andrea Dovizioso - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Andrea Dovizioso may miss the opening test of 2012 after breaking his right collarbone in a motocross accident. The 25 year old confirmed the news on his personal Twitter account and has just over three weeks to be fit for the three-day test at Sepang which starts on January 31st.
Dovizioso has signed to ride for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad alongside Cal Crutchlow and the team are yet to comment on the estimated recovery time, or whether their testing plans have changed.
The Italian joins Nicky Hayden on the injured list after the Ducati rider broke his shoulder while training for the new season in Kentucky. With both injuries taking place during the off-season, riders' activities during the winter have come under scrutiny.
Dovizioso himself raced a Ford Fiesta RS at the Bologna Motor Show in December, losing to Petter Solberg in the final of the Memorial Bettega rally, while he also joined the likes of Valentino Rossi, Andrea Iannone and Claudio Corti at the Monza Rally Show a month earlier.
But Bradley Smith, who will race for Tech 3 in Moto2 this season, responded via Twitter, pointing out that riders take part in these activities not just for enjoyment and adrenaline, but also to keep themselves sharp during the winter break from competitive racing.
“Do you really think Racers would ride Motocross if we didn’t feel it was of “Benefit” to us. I have ridden some form of Motorcycle from 5years old. You just can’t take that away. If you don’t ride, you don’t understand.”
