As has been previously mentioned, the problem arose due to the arrival of Stoner. Originally Honda had planned a three bike ‘superteam’ as they had run in the late nineties (Doohan, Okada and Criville…four if you include Gibernau on the NSR500V). This was dependent upon Red Bull who would provide the sponsorship for Casey’s machine, however, when they failed to commit to the project it was announced that Dovi’s services were no longer required. Problem was, the presence of a performance clause stating that if he was top five in the standings at the end of July, he automatically secured a ride in Honda’s factory team next season. As I recall, his manager Simone Batistella invoked this and his astute selection of a legal team meant that Honda faced the prospect of protracted litigation if they failed to honour the contract. Honda were thus obligated to accommodate Dovizioso, HRC launched a sustained but unsuccessful attempt to secure fresh investment to run a three-pronged factory attack in 2011 and certainly tapped Gresini to accommodate the rider on factory machinery - already destined for Simoncelli whilst HRC wanted to retain Ayoama on the satellite ride. Dovi was typically dignified and after the event magnanimous as ever. As I recall, he was given a 2011 factory RCV but lacking the support and resources availed to Stoner and Pedrosa throughout the year – so yes, it was essentially tantamount to little more than a satellite ride.
