Rossi’s Final Challenge?

Rossi’s Final Challenge?

"My dream is to end my career with Yamaha," said a buoyant Valentino Rossi just two seasons ago, yet if rumours in the media are to be believed from the past week, the eight times world champion could be ready to make a dramatic and shock switch to Italian manufacturer Ducati when his current deal runs out at the end of 2010.

Valentino stunned the world at the end of the 2003 season with the shock announcement that after four successful seasons with Honda he was leaving to join arch rivals Yamaha. It was a move which re-ignited the fuse on the championship, as Rossi battled valiantly against his foes on what was considered inferior machinery and won.

The journey experienced by the Yamaha factory since 2004 has been very varied, with a mixture or highs and lows, joy and pain, the collaboration has seen the pair secure three premier class titles in the five years they have been together, matching Rossi’s title haul at Honda.

Yamaha have spent vast sums of money developing the various evolutions of the M1 motorcycle with the help and technical input from Valentino Rossi, analysing and perfecting the performance of the motorcycle to the point where it is now considered the best bike in the paddock. Which begs the question, why would Valentino Rossi want to leave?

To fully understand any rational reasoning behind that question, we need to take a look at why Rossi decided to leave his former employer Honda. At the end of 2003, Rossi decided that his own accomplishments were being overshadowed by the company. The RC211V had managed to dominant the series since its inception to the premier class and while other teams attempted to chase Rossi down utilising 500cc two strokes or other manufacturers four stroke 990cc equipment, Rossi felt that Honda undervalued his input into the project.

It was mentioned during the 500cc era that the bikes performance amassed to about 20% of the final race outcome, while the rider made up the other 80%. Although in the current era that figure may be closer to 50/50, it was clear that Valentino felt his own input and performance at Honda had being short changed and belittled.

It led to the classic break-up between the two parties, with Honda vowing to crush their former employee in the following season. Rossi and his team moved to Yamaha and worked tirelessly over the winter to develop the M1 into a competitive and competent package capable of winning the title, which he did in 2004 & 2005.

After two seasons without winning the premier class title and with a catalogue of mechanical malfunctions, Yamaha burst back to the front in 2008 with their third evolution of the 800cc prototype M1. It enabled Rossi to battle consistently with Ducati’s Casey Stoner and Honda’s Dani Pedrosa making for a thrilling Championship, which Valentino eventually clinched at Motegi.

However, Yamaha had started to invest in their future with the signing of double 250cc champion, Jorge Lorenzo, which caused a small amount of friction within the team. A dividing wall was initially constructed at the start of 2008 because the two riders were on different makes of tyre. However, the wall has remained intact in 2009 despite the one make tyre regulation and it appears that the camps are drifting apart.

Yamaha has also investing in the progress of another multiple champion in the form of current World Superbike Championship leader, Ben Spies. It has been widely suggested that Ben may become part of the Yamaha satellite project in 2010 with the option of being groomed for a factory seat in the future. It may be the case that with the company investing and courting all this new talent that Valentino is once again feeling a bit underappreciated.

It is important to remember that in the five years that Valentino has been with Yamaha, he is one of only two riders to win a race on their machinery, the only other rider being Jorge. When Rossi joined in 2004 Yamaha hadn’t won a race for over a year. Valentino and his team could rightly feel that they have contributed their 50% and have helped to make the motorcycle the pick of the paddock in the present day.

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