Tech 3 MotoGP boss angered by 2021 Dovizioso rumours
Tech 3 MotoGP team boss Herve Poncharal admits he got “a little bit angry” when rumours of Andrea Dovizioso replacing Iker Lecuona for 2021 emerged during the 2020 season.


Lecuona was drafted in to take the place intended for Brad Binder at Tech 3 in 2020 when KTM opted to move the South African into its factory squad to replace Johann Zarco.
Admitting to Motorsport.com that his move to MotoGP perhaps came “too early”, having only made his Moto2 debut at the age of 16 in 2016, 20-year-old Lecuona managed three top 10s in his maiden premier class season on his way to 20th in the championship.
Vastly inexperienced relative to his rookie contemporaries Binder and Alex Marquez – who had 145 and 135 grand prix starts ahead of 2020 compared to Lecuona’s 56 – rumours emerged mid-season KTM could move Lecuona back to Moto2 and take on outgoing Ducati star Dovizioso.
Dovizioso and KTM held discussions over a 2021 ride in the pre-season, but those talks came to nothing.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Poncharal says he was angered at having to field repeated questions on Lecuona’s future despite KTM confirming his 2021 place in the pre-season.
“The good thing with Iker is he trusts the team and he trusts me a lot,” Poncharal said.
“And I told him: ‘Iker, it doesn’t matter what you hear, it doesn’t matter all the bullshit you hear or read.
“’Consult with yourself on your job and I’m telling you, you are my rider in 2020 and you will be my rider in ’21, 100%. So, don’t pay too much attention to this’.
“Some journalists who also think they are a little bit [like] superstars kept on asking [about Dovizioso replacing Lecuona], and I was at some stage a little bit angry because it doesn’t matter how many time you say [it’s not happening], you feel there is sometimes a higher force or a higher person behind myself that is going to tell me to change [my line-up].”
Dovizioso raced for Tech 3 in its Yamaha days in 2012, scoring six podiums, with Poncharal confessing he has “so much respect” for the Italian.
But the Frenchman insists returning Lecuona to Moto2 in 2021 in favour of Dovizioso was never an option.
“Andrea spoke with KTM during the winter and they didn’t manage to find an agreement,” he adds.
“But then in August they [the media] were coming to me and I told everybody and the journalists, it’s a lack of respect [these rumours].
“We have a contract signed with Iker and why should we tell him to go back to Moto2? Riders are not toilet paper that you take and throw away.
“We took him from Moto2, we took a big risk because it would have been easier to keep him in Moto2 one more year to try to win races and why not the championship, then move to MotoGP.
“So, he followed us, he trusted us and after a year where he started to show his potential, we tell him to go back to Moto2. Never.
“That would never happen with me and I am not glad that didn’t happen because it was never going to happen.
“It was only some superstar media who know more than anybody, who were making their plans and thought that was going to be more exciting.”
Read Also:
Related video

Zarco: Rookie Martin "has talent to adapt well" to MotoGP
Gresini in medically-induced coma, but condition "improving"

Latest news
How in-form Quartararo is evoking Marquez in MotoGP 2022
OPINION: Fabio Quartararo has seized control of the 2022 MotoGP world standings after another dominant victory as his nearest rivals faltered. And he is very much heading towards a second championship echoing how the dominator of the last decade achieved much of his success.
Why Marquez's surgery is about more than just chasing on-track success
OPINION: Marc Marquez will likely sit out the remainder of the 2022 MotoGP season to undergo a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020. It is hoped it will return him to his brilliant best after a tough start to the season without a podium to his name. But it’s the human victory that will far outweigh any future on-track success he may go on to have
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made