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Andrea Dovizioso to Race in DTM (German Touring Car Championship)

  • Mission Winnow Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso will drive in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) at the Misano round next month.

  • He will be behind the wheels of an Audi RS 5 DTM.

  • The round takes place on 8th to 9th June.

Mission Winnow Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso will drive an Audi in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) at the Misano round next month.

He will head to San Marino track on 8th to 9th June for the DTM race immediately after the Italian MotoGP round at Mugello. Dovizioso will drive the Audi RS 5 DTM for the one-off outing, in replacing Pietro Fittipaldi in the Audi WRT Team as the latter attends to his duties in Formula 1. Fittipaldi is the Reserve driver at Haas for the Canadian F1 Grand Prix.

Dovizioso first test the Audi RS 5 DTM at the Neuburg track on 7th May and will test again at Misano on 22nd to 23rd May as his final preparation.

“I love cars and I feel lucky to be able to race with the Audi RS 5 DTM,” Dovizioso said. “It’s tough to find the time to prepare for it during the MotoGP season but I am really looking forward to compete in such a high-level context such as the DTM.”

Head of Audi motorsport Dieter Gass is naturally thrilled to welcome Dovizioso to his DTM fold and is thankful to Ducati bosses for permitting the Italian’s one-off outing.

“I’m delighted that in Andrea Dovizioso we managed to get a real superstar to race as a guest in the DTM,” Gass said. “MotoGP riders are true heroes in Italy.

“Andrea hails from the Misano area, won the Motorcycle Grand Prix there last year and is going to attract many additional fans.

Audi is Ducati’s parent company and focuses in DTM, Formula E, TCR and GT racing.

As for the DTM, three guest drivers made their appearances last year including World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier (driving a Mercedes), 2016 World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekstrom (driving an Audi) and former F1 and Indy Car driver and paralumpian Alex Zanardi (driving a BMW).

Other MotoGP riders have tried their hands in four-wheeled racing, including Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, who tested for the Red Bull F1 team last year. Valentino Rossi competes in the Monza Rally annually.

Wahid's lust for motorcycles was spurred on by his late-Dad's love for his Lambretta on which he courted, married his mother, and took baby Wahid riding on it. He has since worked in the motorcycle and automotive industry for many years, before taking up riding courses and testing many, many motorcycles since becoming a motojournalist. Wahid likes to see things differently. What can you say about a guy who sees a road safety message in AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."

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