Joined Feb 2018
681 Posts | 535+
Italy
Hello guys.
Before you hear me out on this one, please note it is another bar chat, by this I mean I do not have any infos nor sources that gave me any hints about it. These are just my 2 cents, developed directly from my IKEA couch.
What if Yamaha's real current issue is money?
Let me explain:
1) Both Rossi and Vinales stated that they do not know at all what is going on in Japan with the development, which is unusual to say the least. Any kind of elaborate development seems not only to be lacking but also to be very far from being planned, let alone brought on track.
2) Movistar has left their Yamaha sponsorhip, that will be "covered" by Monster Energy (which is already a sponsor). AKA no one actually replaced Movistar.
3) After they left the Tech3 project, they needed to wait for Petronas to build up a satellite team, and showed no intention nor "possibility" to do so on their own.
4) Kouji Tsuya, Yamaha's project leader, apologized publicly which (based on my experience) is something the Japanese only do when they are about to quit a position and/or a job. He hasn't quit yet tho, which may mean Yamaha has not put on the table enough money to hire a new one (that would need to be "stolen" from another company and therefore paid BIG money).
5) It's no secret that the Asian market (the biggest for all motorbikes manufacturers) is pretty much owned by Honda and it's even less of a secret that Yamaha's US sales are currently really bad, which had them moving from Southern California to Georgia (anyone that knows more correct me if I'm wrong).
6) While it is true that Yamaha produces a lot of stuff other than motorbikes, it is also true that race teams are handled and financed separately (race teams are pretty much companies within the company).
So my question is, what if the Yamaha Racing Team does not have enough money to fully cover their motoGP development, or (which sounds even more likely IMHO) simply does not want to invest money in that direction?
Before you hear me out on this one, please note it is another bar chat, by this I mean I do not have any infos nor sources that gave me any hints about it. These are just my 2 cents, developed directly from my IKEA couch.
What if Yamaha's real current issue is money?
Let me explain:
1) Both Rossi and Vinales stated that they do not know at all what is going on in Japan with the development, which is unusual to say the least. Any kind of elaborate development seems not only to be lacking but also to be very far from being planned, let alone brought on track.
2) Movistar has left their Yamaha sponsorhip, that will be "covered" by Monster Energy (which is already a sponsor). AKA no one actually replaced Movistar.
3) After they left the Tech3 project, they needed to wait for Petronas to build up a satellite team, and showed no intention nor "possibility" to do so on their own.
4) Kouji Tsuya, Yamaha's project leader, apologized publicly which (based on my experience) is something the Japanese only do when they are about to quit a position and/or a job. He hasn't quit yet tho, which may mean Yamaha has not put on the table enough money to hire a new one (that would need to be "stolen" from another company and therefore paid BIG money).
5) It's no secret that the Asian market (the biggest for all motorbikes manufacturers) is pretty much owned by Honda and it's even less of a secret that Yamaha's US sales are currently really bad, which had them moving from Southern California to Georgia (anyone that knows more correct me if I'm wrong).
6) While it is true that Yamaha produces a lot of stuff other than motorbikes, it is also true that race teams are handled and financed separately (race teams are pretty much companies within the company).
So my question is, what if the Yamaha Racing Team does not have enough money to fully cover their motoGP development, or (which sounds even more likely IMHO) simply does not want to invest money in that direction?
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