Joined Oct 2007
4K Posts | 744+
Tuscany, Italy
Rising Sun
Oh, I never doubt the sincerity of Lorenzo's words. He doesn't either, he has been professionally trained in believing in himself.
Spies 2012... that's an interesting subject, one that would have had all our conspiracy theorists fired up, if only his teammate had been Rossi or his manager Brivio. But no, they weren't, so no fun. His incredible string of breakdowns (also nervous in the end, but that's understandable) was just.bad luck. After clocking better lap times than Lorenzo at Sepang, he suddenly forgot how to ride and either evaporated or self destructed for the rest of the season. Tip for the conspirationists: maybe it was a plot by Yamaha bosses to pave the way for Rossi's return? Devilish... :yeah:
"Ago said he would never ride for Yamaha again; 12 months later he's back in the factory squad and Ago is history! " I need help with this, but it could be a glitch with my understanding of English.
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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 think Yamaha actually pushed and pushed Lorenzo to sign, because they knew they couldn't win a bidding war with Honda if it dragged deep into the summer. The fact that less than a month passed between Stoner publically annoucing his retirement and Lorenzo signing again with Yamaha shows how desperate they were to keep him. There doesn't seem to be much reason for Yamaha to be put out with Lorenzo, but if there is an element who are upset, they should take a good hard look at their own negotiating team first.
I did a bit of checking about Marcos Hirsch, and found that he and Lorenzo parted amicably; indeed, Jorge even said, 'It had nothing to do with my contract negotiations.' There's no reason to doubt the sincerity of Lorenzo's words.
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.
The other interesting (and possibly amusing) thing about the Yamaha factory team comings and goings refers to Rossi's signing. By putting pressure on Spies to really step up this year, yet (seemingly) not giving him anywhere near the level of support, did Jarvis shoot himself in the foot? Could that be why Jarvis-Spies-Yamaha all say it was Ben's decision to leave? What results would have kept Spies on a factory Yamaha and Rossi counting his money at Ducati/home retired in Tavullia? I'm not one who believes Rossi's signing was Dorna-influenced; if Dorna could force a Japanese factory to do something I think they might have used that option before now to ram through a raft of technical rules changes...
Now I'm curious as to where the slip of the pen is!
Oh, I never doubt the sincerity of Lorenzo's words. He doesn't either, he has been professionally trained in believing in himself.
Spies 2012... that's an interesting subject, one that would have had all our conspiracy theorists fired up, if only his teammate had been Rossi or his manager Brivio. But no, they weren't, so no fun. His incredible string of breakdowns (also nervous in the end, but that's understandable) was just.bad luck. After clocking better lap times than Lorenzo at Sepang, he suddenly forgot how to ride and either evaporated or self destructed for the rest of the season. Tip for the conspirationists: maybe it was a plot by Yamaha bosses to pave the way for Rossi's return? Devilish... :yeah:
"Ago said he would never ride for Yamaha again; 12 months later he's back in the factory squad and Ago is history! " I need help with this, but it could be a glitch with my understanding of English.
