MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso and Hans-Georg Anscheidt to become Hall of Fame inductees

Andrea Dovizioso and Hans-Georg Anscheidt will both be named as MotoGP Legends and inducted into the Hall of Fame this season.

Dovizioso will be inducted at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, whilst Anscheidt will be celebrated at his home round in Germany (Sachsenring).

Dovizioso will go down as one of the most talented riders never to have won the premier class title. The Italian finished second to Marc Marquez between 2017 and 2019, pushing the Repsol Honda racer all the way on each occasion.

In fact, Dovizioso was a rider who managed to get the better of Marquez in head-to-head battles on track, most notably at the Red Bull Ring in 2017 and 2019. During those three seasons, Dovizioso won 12 races and secured 26 podiums for Ducati.

All in all, Dovizioso spent eight years with the factory Ducati team, helping them turn the Desmocedici into a regular frontrunning machine. During his time with the Bologna factory, Dovi won 14 races, visited the podium on 40 occasions and took six poles.

The 2004 125cc World Champion also finished runner-up in the 250cc class to Jorge Lorenzo in 2006 and 2007, before moving into MotoGP with Honda. His first win came with Repsol Honda at Donington Park in 2009.

Dovizioso raced for Tech3 Yamaha in 2012, finishing fourth overall with six podiums, before returning to the manufacturer for five races in 2021 and previously announcing a sabbatical.

He remained with the RNF Racing team in 2022 but ultimately, like teammate Darryn Binder and factory rider Franco Morbidelli, struggled to compete. As a result, Dovizioso retired before the end of the season.

“When they told me, I was really surprised,” Dovizioso admitted. “Reading the list of Legends, it’s a nice feeling to know my name is now going to be added. I had a long career but didn’t expect to be named a Legend – and certainly not so soon – but it’s really an honour.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to the paddock to visit, and to be inducted at the Italian Grand Prix makes it really special. I’m surprised and very happy, happy to become a MotoGP Legend. So, thank you very much!”

Meanwhile, Anscheidt is a three-time 50cc World Champion. The German won three consecutive titles between 1966 and 1968 – two with the factory Suzuki team and then one onboard a privateer Suzuki.

He started riding Enduro in 1955 before switching to Speedway in 1957, then taking on the new challenge of 50cc circuit racing from 1959. Anscheidt was the winner of the first World Championship 50cc race at Montjuïc in 1962

Anscheidt also podiumed in the two 125cc races he competed in during the 1967 and 1968 seasons, before retiring at the end of 1968 season.

“It is a great pleasure for me to become a MotoGP Legend, Anscheidt said. “I did not expect it, as the 50cc class came years after the other classes of the World Championship had started and is long gone. I am very happy, and I will do all I can to come to the Sachsenring together with my son.

“The 50cc class was very special for me as I was racing bigger offroad bikes before and had to learn to handle these tiny, wobbly beasts with their narrow power band and narrow two-inch tires that had no margin for error.

“When the 50cc Moto Cup started in 1959, they had an average of 100 km/h. In 1960 it was already 110 km/h. In 1961 the top speed of our Kreidler in the European Championship was around 140 km/h, when I last raced at Spa in 1968, my Suzuki went up to 205 km/h. It was an amazing development in these early years.

“I have not been in the paddock for a very long time., so I am very excited to see the World Championship again. I know from TV that the races are very close!”

The duo join a growing list of inductees to the MotoGP Hall of Fame, which already includes Valentino Rossi, Wayne Rainey, Mick Doohan, Jorge Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden and many more of motorcycle racing’s greatest riders.

The Italian GP at Mugello takes place on June 9-11, whilst the German GP at Sachsenring will follow on June 16-18.