Rossi & Yamaha

[wkid_one]

Rossi To Yamaha?!
eight million, $600 expense item, edwards to honda, ala lawson
by dean adams
Wednesday, October 08, 2003 The rumor that Val Rossi was on the verge of signing with Yamaha has been making the rounds for at least two weeks now, but has reached fever pitch today with several foreign web sites stating that he has now SIGNED with Yamaha for 2004.

Reportedly Rossi became incensed at HRC because they kicked back one of his expense reports where he added in a travel expense for his girlfriend (Rossi HAS a girlfriend?!). That touched off a war of words between him, his manager and HRC.

The Yamaha offer, for a reported eight million dollars for one season (which is *almost* what Doohan made in his last season of racing)then seemed to take on a new life with Rossi and Co.

Rossi is said to be ready to make an announcement on his future this weekend in Sepang. Couple all of the above with the fact that he's on the verge of wrapping up the world title this weekend as well ...

From there the rumors stop being little one-cell beings in a paddock-shaped petri dish and become walking monsters: Honda is going to make nice with Colin Edwards II to re-sign him in place of Rossi, which will give the HRC team two Americans for the first time in ... ever. Even though Edwards was reportedly "re-signed" with Aprilia for 2003 months ago, now, he's free to sign with Honda. But, doesn't Ducati have an option on Edwards for 2004? All rumors ...

It is said that for Rossi, the most tantalizing aspect of the switch from Honda to Yamaha is that he will have a shot at even more history than he has earned already. He'd do that by winning the world title in successive years while riding for two different manufacturers, as four-time world champion Eddie Lawson did in 1988/1989. Lawson won the title on a Yamaha in 1988 and then swapped to a Kanemoto Honda for '89 and won his fourth title. Rossi has won the 125/250 and "MotoGP" titles already and is the most naturally talented rider the world has seen since Freddie Spencer.

For Rossi, the similarities with what Lawson accomplished don't end with just swapping teams and bikes. Lawson won the '89 title on what is considered one of the most vile handling motorcycles ever raced in GP. For Rossi, racing the Yamaha will be a true test of his God-like ability, because even though it has started to come around in the past few races, the M1 has nearly been trounced in 2003 by both the Hondas and the new Ducati.

[Hoon]

From motogp.com: 



Rossi and Honda announce separation after final victory at Valencia  
 
 Rossi announces spilt with Honda 
 
Valentino Rossi and Honda today made a joint announcement to confirm that they will not renew their contract for the 2004 MotoGP World Championship. After a relationship spanning four seasons which has yielded three world titles and 33 premier-class victories, the Japanese factory and the reigning World Champion confirmed their separation to a packed press conference just hours after the Italian’s final victory on the RC211V at Valencia.

Rossi revealed that he felt he had achieved everything he possibly could on the V5 machine and added that he was looking forward to racing against it next season. “I am here to say thank you very much to Honda and that next year we will not race together. I have had four fantastic years which are truly unforgettable. We won three World Championships and more or less 50% of the races. I have won in normal conditions, in the wet, in the dry, at my favourite track and, today, at my least favourite track. My work on this bike is finished.  

“I am a HRC rider until the 31st December so I cannot comment yet on which bike I will be riding, but I can say that it will be a big challenge – it maybe even seems a little crazy right now! I think all the journalists, fans and everybody involved in this sport is very happy because next year will be a great fight.”

Carlo Fiorani, Sporting Manager for HRC, declared: “Everybody knows that Honda have been in negotiations with Valentino Rossi for much of the season. Honda have done everything in their power to convince him to stay, but in the end the decision was nothing to do with money, sponsorship or any other standard contractual situation. The only area of difficulty is that we cannot offer Valentino the challenge he is looking for and we understand that he should look for that challenge elsewhere.”

[SPman]

He's saying it will be a big challenge next year........he's not going to ride for Aprilia, is he???????????

[Big Dog]

Originally posted by SPman
He's saying it will be a big challenge next year........he's not going to ride for Aprilia, is he???????????

Nah, cannondale.

lol

[Coldkiwi]

Well, the job description of a GP rider in Suzuki, Kawasaki or Aprilia should pretty much fit the bill! Rossi on an Aprilia.. now that'd be something to cheer for. It'd have to be worth a fair bit of sales $4 for Aprilia too.

 

[SPman]

Apparently Shane (Shaky) Byrne will be one of the Aprilia riders.

[Coldkiwi]

I would presume he'll be replacing an outgoing edwards then who's probably back off to honda? Could be a very interesting round of music bike seats... but how far ahead of the GP and SBK season start does the music stop?

[SPman]

Rossi is now confirmed with Yamaha!We are all extremely happy that Valentino will be joining Yamaha in 2004,” commented Mr Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “In our discussions with him it is clear that he relishes the challenge of achieving our goal in MotoGP as much as we do. He is an incredible talent and will make a huge difference. Obviously there is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are confident that we can give Valentino the means to achieve more World Championships and we look forward to the challenge ahead. This is a very important step in our plan to reestablish Yamaha as a leading force in Grand Prix racing.”

Rossi will be joining Spaniard Carlos Checa in the Yamaha factory team based near Monza in Italy and run by team director Davide Brivio. Checa’s current teammate, Italian Marco Melandri, will move to the Tech 3 Yamaha team (currently the Gauloises Yamaha Team). Managed by team principal Hervé Poncharal, the French based squad is a close partner of Yamaha. The combination ensures a strong line-up for Yamaha in 2004 and both teams will continue under the Yamaha-Altadis umbrella sponsorship agreement with the Gauloises and Fortuna brands. Final colors and co-sponsors for the 2004 season have yet to be announced.