Denning in-depth on Rea struggles, Locatelli’s step forward and whether luck comes into it at all
Two rounds down and just eight points scored for Jonathan Rea with Yamaha, something team boss Paul Denning hopes will change soon
www.worldsbk.com
If you don't have time to read, here are a few highlights:
1. Rea has a close personal relationship with his crew chief, Andrew Pitt. Denning hints that converting this relationship to a working relationship is critical if Rea is going to succeed.
2. They are bullish on Locatelli, but already applying a lot of public pressure for him to win races.
3. Denning surmises that removing the R1 from the European market will allow Yamaha to focus on race performance, rather than making changes for emissions.
The last point seems like wishful thinking. CARB basically follows the EU around, and they have strict zero emissions motorcycle targets. I'd be surprised if the race track advantages materialize. Maybe the FIM will allow the homologated model to be race-only in all markets sort of like what they did for the R6. The emergence of the track-only specials is a precarious trend. It's not too far away from prototypes and satellite machines.
