Rossi being so desperate to escape the red devil he had to turn over his personal Monster Energy sponsorship to Yamaha so they could afford to pay no value Lorenzo's over-inflated salary amuses you?
Remember Lawson testing the '89 Yahama, and then signing with Honda? Ago said he would never ride for Yamaha again; 12 months later he's back in the factory squad and Ago is history! Of course, Rainey and Lawson in the same team didn't work out too well, only lasting a season, and Lawson's injuries meant although there was tension, there were no fireworks. In that light, bring on 2013!
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Lorenzo's negotiations with Honda were protracted? Didn't he fire his manager for not telling him everything about the Honda offer? Didn't Lorenzo sign a new contract much, much earlier in the season than any of the other major riders? And if Yamaha were so pissed off with Lorenzo, why sign him so quickly, and for more $$$? Also, if Yamaha really felt slighted by a rider exploring options with another team, what is their view of a rider who did leave, in an act of petulance that back-fired abysmally?
To find out that the racing department didn't want you back (aside from Furusawa, who no doubt still has a lot of influence), but the marketing department did (does this mean Rossi effectively bought his way onto the team?)... seems like there's a lot of slaps to go around.
Yamaha could find a title sponsor in an instant if they were prepared to lower their asking price, like Suzuki with Rizla. In this economic climate, if Rossi's arrival does lead to a new sponsor it's unlikely to be anything substantial; not close to what Repsol pay (which itself is nowhere near enough). And if it turns out to be Monster, I wonder what this means for Tech 3, let alone Lorenzo and Rockstar (another slap, right there?).
There's always lots of soap opera drama when riders change teams.
Well, we have a fair idea when negotiations could have started at the earliest: when (well-founded, it turned out!) rumours about Stoner retiring first surfaced during Jerez/Estoril this year. To me, this would indicate that Honda wouldn't have approached Lorenzo before early to mid-May (i.e. when it became clear to HRC there was no changing Stoner's mind); he signed with Yamaha between Catalunya and Silverstone around June 12th. Is spending one month really taking so long that Yamaha HQ would be so enraged?
I was mostly just having a joke at the idea of Valentino Rossi (Mr. 9 times) having to bring money to the table (or at least the potential of money to the table) in order to get the ride. But if you're saying, in a manner of speaking, there's substance to that idea, then...
I don't think that was directed at me, but I'm sure that even those individuals who are perpetually irritated with Rossi have no trouble acknowledging his popularity--you can hardly miss it. It's a well accepted fact that Rossi puts bums on seats, makes yellow-coloured merchandise fly off the shelves, and, undoubtedly, helps manufacturers sell their motorcycles. I assume those who dislike Rossi have their various reasons (real or imagined), but in this respect, I can understand why a rider whose fame (for lack of a better word) has elevated him above/made him seem more important than the sport they've followed and loved for x years might be perpetually irritating. Whether any of this is actually Rossi's fault depends on how culpable he is in the creation and maintenence of his cult of personality.
Now I'm curious as to where the slip of the pen is!339324" data-author="J4rn0
I agree with the soap opera part, the examples are all true (but I think there is a slip of the pen in Ago's) and are good to remember.
