Driven by a Yamaha factory lacking riders for 2022, the transfer market has become a free-for-all in the world of Grands Prix. So much so that this anarchy impacts other categories, starting with WSBK. In this environment, Razgatliogu and Gerloff were approached for a possibility of steering at Petronas and the two closed the door by signing contracts retaining them on their current R1. But alas, as Carlo Pernat already regretted, “ now the contracts are no longer worth anything, unfortunately. You pay a penalty and everyone is free. The problem is that the manufacturers must understand that then they themselves are the big losers ". Lin Jarvis doesn't seem convinced...
However, KTM did not actually emerge from his announcement in the panic of a Raul Fernandez promoted to Tech3 KTM in MotoGP in 2022. Since then, the substance and form of this initiative have been commented on and contested, leaving the impression of small-scale management at KTM not very shiny. But not only. The entire community now seems to live in total insecurity. And as long as Yamaha will not have resolved its workforce problem in MotoGP for 2022, it seems that it will be even more so.
Therefore, Lynn Jarvis, after perhaps having missed Raul fernandez who would prepare a legal counter-attack against the Austrians to whom, nevertheless, he owes a lot, relaunch the offensive in the direction of the WSBK. On speedweek, he actually says: “ we now have to decide with the Petronas team what will be the best driver mix for the coming season. It's mostly for 2022. They could be other riders from the MotoGP category, they could be riders from the Moto2 world championship, they could be riders from the Superbike world championship, etc. Honestly, we have been very busy with this for weeks and we discussed a lot about the best option ».
Lin Jarvis: »we will probably make our decision after the Silverstone Grand Prix at the end of August »
He adds : " if Gerloff turns out to be the best option, if he is interested in the project, and he has already declared his interest in the MotoGP World Championship, then we could possibly make this transfer possible. But we have to decide if this is the best decision for the team, for Yamaha and for MotoGP ", said Lynn Jarvis. " We will probably make our decision after the Silverstone Grand Prix at the end of August ". This leaves time for lawyers to Raul fernandez to study possible action.
On the other hand, it seems, given the trends, that the most 30 years old, no longer have their chances despite their experience. The six-time Superbike world champion Johnny Rea (34 years) and Andrea Dovizioso (35 years old) do not fit into the job description profile Petronas-Yamaha. Jarvis precise : " Until the final decision is made, no driver should be excluded. I read Razlan Razali's quotes during the summer vacation. But our “rider line up” is still open »
The Malaysian is therefore definitely not the decision-maker in anything… Jarvis adds: " the situation with Johnny Rea is different from that of Gerloff. He is not affiliated with Yamaha in superbikes and he is not young. Is he capable? Yes of course. Does he have a bright future in MotoGP? I doubt. It would be a bit illogical to move to Yamaha now, after spending his entire career at Kawasaki. Like I said: it will be another three weeks before we find a solution. » The days that follow will be tense...
