During the last MotoGP Grand Prix of the 2021 season, the 6 manufacturers involved in the premier category were brought together to take stock of the current season and answer questions from the press.
Were therefore present this November 12, 2021, Paolo ciabatti (Sports Director Ducati Corse), Lynn Jarvis (Operational Director of Yamaha Motor Racing & Team Principal of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Shinichi Sahara (Project Leader and Team Manager of Team Ecstar Suzuki MotoGP), Alberto puig (Team Manager HRC), Mike leitner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Race Director) and Massimo rivola (CEO Aprilia Racing).
After Paolo ciabatti who had the honor of starting the conference because of the manufacturer's title, Lin Jarvis took part in the game... Very, very long, which explains the broadcast in several parts!
As usual, we report the words of Lynn Jarvis without any formatting but in full.
To return to the crisis with Viñales, in hindsight, would you have handled it differently?
Lynn Jarvis : “(Moment of reflection) Looking back... We could have... Anticipated this... It's difficult because something happened and evolved when we didn't expect it. I mean, when Maverick renewed with us for 2 years and Valentino was leaving, I would probably say we had the strongest team on the grid to start this year. Maverick was in his fifth year and normally should have progressed to become the leader of the team, because before that, Valentino was always there. Valentino, of course, has so much history and so many ties to Yamaha that it can sometimes cast a shadow over the teammate. So he (Viñales) started really well. Sorry, but if you had asked me the same question in March or April, when we were in Qatar, I would have said "I am completely convinced that we made the right decision and that he made the right decision." But who could imagine that by winning the first race you would end up in the ninth race having a crisis with the driver who chose to leave the company? At the same time, we were one and two at Assen, so you could hardly say that the bike was not competitive or that the team was not performing well: In the end, we won the world championship! So I think the decision we made at that time to renew with Maverick was the right decision, and it's very difficult to... You know, if we could all make decisions based on the guaranteed future, we would all be very rich and probably not here, but it's not that simple. Some things take you by surprise. It was difficult to deal with at the time because it was completely unprecedented, I've never been in this situation before, mid-season like that. But having said that, I think we all ultimately handled it the best way possible, and we're pretty comfortable with the group we put together. »
How did Fabio manage to maintain the same level of performance when everything was going wrong according to Maverick?
“Remarkably well, the results really showed that. He is someone who is full of positivity, energy and focus anyway, and I would say he is quite light-hearted. Last year he was a little more sensitive to problems. Maybe last year he was frustrated, even though he won three races before, he had his own ups and downs, but honestly he's handling the situation remarkably well. He was completely out of sync with what was going on on the other side of the garage, and I think most of you who have worked with champions know that he's a champion talent. The talent of a champion is to be able to block out everything else, to stay focused on your work, on your mission, and not let other things influence it. And he's done a great job this year of doing that. »
Your new satellite team only has a one-year contract with Yamaha. For what ?
“The decision to move forward with what then was the Sepang Racing Team was made more or less around Mugello this year. Obviously at this point you know it's the third year with the Sepang Racing Team this year and this company was well established, it's part of the Sepang Circuit, they had a big title sponsor, they had another program in Moto2 and Moto3, so it was a clear and directional decision that we made. As of course as we progressed in the development of the contract things changed, but also the ownership of the company changed too, so the new RNF team would effectively be a start-up since it is a new company launched by Razlan Razali. So in our company, I think like in a lot of companies, you're a little cautious with start-ups anyway, we have company policies in place and that prevents you from entering into a multi-year contract right away. leaving with an unknown company. Of course, we know several of the people in this company, and it's a story, but it's still not the same. We need to see the proven track record as the business grows. So our intention is to decide by the end of June, and if all goes well, we can continue into the future. But corporate policy is a bit step by step. »
Will there be more tests next year with Cal Crutchlow?
“For my part, I can perhaps say yes and yes. So yes, we will do more, tests next year. This is the clear commitment of the parent company and we will continue to run a hybrid operation where we will use a lot of Japanese staff together with European staff. We will have more European personnel on the team but we will continue to have that combination at each site and we will definitely continue with Cal. We haven't signed yet but we have agreed terms and Cal will stay with us in the future. It's already decided. »
How do you see MotoGP without Valentino Rossi and the impetus he gave to many children to compete?
“On the Yamaha side, we obviously spent 16 years with Vale, which was a very big part of his career. We saw his value to the sport, we all saw it, but also to our brand. You know, he's really been, I would say, a cherished iconic asset to our brand, and we hope to carry that into the future and maintain our relationship with Valentino, that's what we want to do. As fast as the sport is going, I think we all benefit from the popularity it has brought to the sport over the years. But all sports evolve, you know, we've already seen it, whether it's skiing, tennis, Formula 1 or any other. You know, after the Senna years and the accident that led to Ayrton's sad demise, Formula 1 continued. Then Schumacher. You know, you have legends, but sport, but at the end of the day... Sport is always evolving and there are always young people coming through. If you look at Formula 1 now, you have to have the current icon and you have the new generation coming too. There are very good young drivers arriving in Formula 1. We went through the Senna years, then the Schumacher years, then the years of Lewis Hamilton's domination, and we have already seen Sebastian Vettel. But now look at the Young Guns coming into Formula 1: They're fun, they're young, they're fast and we have this crazy orange move for Verstappen moving forward, and that will probably continue into the future. And I think this will happen in MotoGP too: We have incredible, incredibly exciting races in all three categories. I think the sport will continue to grow in the future. »
Photo credits: MotoGP.com
