Joined Oct 2007
4K Posts | 744+
Tuscany, Italy
So, the deals are done.
Stoner to Honda.
Lorenzo with Yamaha.
Rossi to Ducati.
Pedro, probably with Honda.
In this context, Rossi's injury has been important to seal the VR46-Ducati deal because it has given Lorenzo a world-champion status which has shifted the internal balance of Yamaha definitely towards the Spaniard. See the total absence of Yamaha managers (Brivio the only exception) among those who paid a visit to Valentino at the Florence hospital. See, on the other hand, the visible display of enthusiasm by Jarvis & Co. at each uncontested victory of the Spaniard in the absence of Rossi. Body language does not lie.
Some may think, oh well, here we are done, the drama is over, let's begin the 2011 season immediately, -- why lose time with a 2010 season that is already decided...
No hurry, 2010 can still deliver emotions. We are going to have a smaller championship, a "mundialito", between Rossi and Lorenzo, with Stoner and Pedrosa (and Dovi) as spoilers. This mundialito will effectively begin at Misano (Brno, and maybe Sachsenring, are going to be warmup races for Rossi). But starting Misano, Rossi will race aggressively with Lorenzo as his target. That's assured -- whether he'll be able to beat him in this small private championship, has to be seen, but no doubt he will try to make a point before moving to Ducati next year.
The question is, how is Yamaha going to handle the last chapter of a ferocious internal war? Will they allow a breakaway Rossi to challenge the new chosen man? This is not a small question. Last year, and this year up to the Mugello accident, Yamaha had the assurance that even if one of the two riders went down, they could still win the championship wirth the second one.
But now, should Lorenzo have a bad crash while battling with Rossi in the second part of the season, Yamaha could lose everything. Hmmmm... Will they run such a risk? Or be cynical and favor Lorenzo? Rossi must be asking himself the same question... Certainly they have no reason to support too much a Rossi who's on his way out. On the other hand, certainly Rossi will not want to give too many hints towards the 2011 development of the bike. So, how can he claim all-out support...
Could this be a lose-lose situation inside the Yamaha camp? It also connects to the question of how they are going to approach development in the absence of Burgess and Rossi. Will they go back to the old (losing) engineer-led way? Or, will Lorenzo (with his faithful Forcada) inherit this privileged role as well from Rossi?
Who knows.
Stoner to Honda.
Lorenzo with Yamaha.
Rossi to Ducati.
Pedro, probably with Honda.
In this context, Rossi's injury has been important to seal the VR46-Ducati deal because it has given Lorenzo a world-champion status which has shifted the internal balance of Yamaha definitely towards the Spaniard. See the total absence of Yamaha managers (Brivio the only exception) among those who paid a visit to Valentino at the Florence hospital. See, on the other hand, the visible display of enthusiasm by Jarvis & Co. at each uncontested victory of the Spaniard in the absence of Rossi. Body language does not lie.
Some may think, oh well, here we are done, the drama is over, let's begin the 2011 season immediately, -- why lose time with a 2010 season that is already decided...
No hurry, 2010 can still deliver emotions. We are going to have a smaller championship, a "mundialito", between Rossi and Lorenzo, with Stoner and Pedrosa (and Dovi) as spoilers. This mundialito will effectively begin at Misano (Brno, and maybe Sachsenring, are going to be warmup races for Rossi). But starting Misano, Rossi will race aggressively with Lorenzo as his target. That's assured -- whether he'll be able to beat him in this small private championship, has to be seen, but no doubt he will try to make a point before moving to Ducati next year.
The question is, how is Yamaha going to handle the last chapter of a ferocious internal war? Will they allow a breakaway Rossi to challenge the new chosen man? This is not a small question. Last year, and this year up to the Mugello accident, Yamaha had the assurance that even if one of the two riders went down, they could still win the championship wirth the second one.
But now, should Lorenzo have a bad crash while battling with Rossi in the second part of the season, Yamaha could lose everything. Hmmmm... Will they run such a risk? Or be cynical and favor Lorenzo? Rossi must be asking himself the same question... Certainly they have no reason to support too much a Rossi who's on his way out. On the other hand, certainly Rossi will not want to give too many hints towards the 2011 development of the bike. So, how can he claim all-out support...
Could this be a lose-lose situation inside the Yamaha camp? It also connects to the question of how they are going to approach development in the absence of Burgess and Rossi. Will they go back to the old (losing) engineer-led way? Or, will Lorenzo (with his faithful Forcada) inherit this privileged role as well from Rossi?
Who knows.
