I agree........possibly the "Italian on an Italian motorcycle" carries a fair whack of marketing power, but the knowledge that JB would come on board with him would have been a major factor.
As good as Rossi is/may be......he's smart enough to stick with JB. We all have a little black reference book we take to the track to dial in bike settings for that days weather, track temp ect.......imagine the book JB has !!
No matter which rider is on the bike, and what they are saying it is/isn't doing.......30 years and three world champions worth of info to draw upon.
Honda was lost until this year after he left,
Yamaha may well end up back where they were before JB .......I really hope not........I would like good, close racing between all makes......but that's been a dream for the 25 years I've been following this sport....always one manufacturer on top/far ahead of the others in any given year/years.
The only exception would be Schwantz on that bloody ....-box Suzuki. That was nothing short of will-power and determination.........even when he was finishing second to Rainey. (Which, championship wise, was every year till Rainey's terrible accident)
Don't get me wrong.........I am a Suzuki man when it comes to road bikes, but they have never been able to build a decent GP bike since the mid 80's........and that is open for some serious debate.
.......I am also a rabid Schwantz fan.
The best we can hope for is that Yamaha learnt something from JB, that Ducati does, and that Honda stay as competitive as they are now.
Then we may get some real close racing.
And wouldn't that be a fitting legacy to JB if/when he retires......that he left the sport having influnced the direction of all the main players to a point where they are all competitive machines.
....now.....if he'd just go to Suzuki before he retires.
