So why's Rossi moving to Yamaha then, does he like a challenge or something :confused: Surely his best chance's are with a works Honda! Even a Ducati would of been a more logical step for him surely?

Maybe he just likes a challenge then ;)

Scott

Would appear it comes down to the challenge... fair play to him, if ( and he probably will ) wins on the Yamaha he truly will be the greatest rider ever...

"I cannot comment yet on which bike I will be riding, but I can say that it will be a big challenge - it maybe even seems a little crazy right now!" said Valentino. "I think all the journalists, fans and everybody involved in this sport is very happy because next year will be a great fight."

Also rumours are claiming he is taking Burgess along with him..

Roll on 2004... Can't wait...

"Crazy"

Rossi to Proton then!

LOL

Didn't they say Schuey would be mad to go to Ferrari, I seem to remember they weren't up to much at the time, look at them now!:)

I can't wait to see Neil Hodgson in MotoGP next year, should be a really good season with all that's going on.

Very true Bob :) Would be good to see him turn a team around

Does this mean the superbike championship will be worth even less next year :rolleyes: there was a time when these 2 championships were fighting for the top slot! No contest now

I'm not sure that going to Yamaha would constitute turning a team around. The Yamaha isn't as far off the Honda as results might suggest. Honda and Ducati have the top riders and Rossi appears to have a fair bit in hand over all of them. I would suggest that the "bit in hand" is bigger than the difference between a Yamaha and a Honda.
This is precisely what Ferrari relied upon in it's first year or two with Schumacher.

Has there been an announcement yet? They were suggesting during the Valencia race that there was to be one on Sunday evening.

Apparently Honda are holding Rossi to the letter of his contract, which expires December 31st .... so we may not have confirmation until then.

The Yam is pretty quick, Milandri & Checa have been consistently in the top 6.

What's interesting is that Honda's domination could work against it for the rider's championship ... too many good riders scrapping on more or less equal machinery.

Kenny Roberts won his three 500cc world titles in similar circumstances in 78 - 80. He wasn't on the best bike by a long chalk, the RG500s always had an extra 10bhp but there were so many RG500 riders tripping over each other and spreading the points thinly, that he simply kept picking up an odd win here, a second and third there, and got the titles by stealth rather than domination.

Of course if he goes to Aprilia then all the above is complete bollocks :) Haga's been fired and Edwards is off to Honda, so Aprilia is a bit thin on riding talent ;)

Hi

The pundits on TV were commenting that Rossi was getting the chance to take his own crew to Yamaha - something that Doohan was never offered the chance to do. This would give Rossi the best chance of getting results with the Yamaha - who have not always been the best when responding to the needs of their riders.

Anyway, Doohan was a machine and winning at all times was all that mattered. No worries? My a$%e! No way was he going to take a chance with an uncompetitive bike.

I reckon Rossi cares as much about winning, but he's got that extra drive that makes him need to prove that it's him and not the machinery. Next year? My bet is few good results and maybe runner-up in the championship. The year after he'll walk away with it.

The man has simply taken the sport to a new level.

Hmmm, one reason why he left Honda was because they wouldn't give him No.1 status with the 'best of the best' machinery. He's obviously worried he'll be beaten more regularly if others get given the same kit (like Gibernau was this year after Kato died). Maybe he thinks that Yamaha, with his skills, can give him the machine edge he wants on the rest?

I would have thought that Ducati offered him the best chances next year but I believe they are out of the equation because of excessive publicity and appearance demands. As god like as he is he always has to have it on his terms and only Yamaha are prepared to do that.

Didn't Biaggi leave a competitive ride to go to Yamaha for big bucks only to fail miserably? I guess we're gonna find out just how good he is next year aren't we??!!!

Take your point re. the Yamaha bucks and Biaggi, but don't you think that (mid-season glitch apart) although Gibernau can keep up on a good day it all tends to fall apart when he gets in front? More of the Doohan-Criville tow-truck scenario.

For sure the Ducati would have been the more immediately competitive option and I wouldn't be at all suprised if Rossi's results are down next season as they develop the package. You can bet that the knockers will jump all over him if he doesn't clear off into the middle distance at the first round.

However, if the old adage that a rider 1 second off the pace develops a bike 1 second off the pace holds true, not only will the Yamaha improve but the Honda could start going backwards.

PS. Biaggi has just the most immaculate style I could just watch him ride all day. I think it's the old 250 thing. But just when exactly is he going to do something?

If Rossi wanted a 'real' challenge, he would have signed for Chris Burns' Harris team... ;)

If he does sign for Yamaha, I don't see why he couldn't take the title again next year. The bike won a couple of races this year, so its capability is proven...

I think he's got it in him to be a winner next year and develop the Yam into a front runner. I seriously hope he does!! And yes, Gibernau was able to keep up this year in some races but ultimately Rossi was consistently 'kin fast which is where he's better than anyone else.

I do hope that he does a Schumacher and doesn't just emulate the Biaggi/Villeneuve mould and fall off it. Time will tell....

It would certainly be great to see Rossi go to somewhere other than Yamaha or Ducati. I don't really believe that Sete is as close to Rossi as some of this year's results would suggest. Rossi clearly likes to race but when it matters (Philip Island) he has the speed to break the rest.

As for Villeneuve, I still have my fingers crossed that he will test for Mclaren - particularly now that Wurz might go to Jaguar. I don't think that I could cope with losing Villeneuve and McRae in one year.

When he waltsed away last race to win by 15 secs - thats not just the bike doing that - thats the rider....

Because Honda has been so dominant on the last 3 years we all think they are unbeatable... but i'd rate rossi's chances on any bike... bar the Proton!

Be great if he joins Shakey on the Aprilia!!

Jza

Top rookie Hayden could be a man to watch next year. He's got youth on his side and been getting quicker all the time whilst keeping it out of the gravel.