The title is believed but the question really seems to arise, given the latest statements from Razlan Razali, director of the Sepang circuit and team manager of the Malaysian satellite structure Yamaha.
Reminder of the facts: Yamaha Factory has just announced its two official riders for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Maverick Vinales et fabio quartararo, thereby ousting the star Valentino Rossi under the pretext that the latter still needs a few months before making his decision regarding a possible retirement or a possible small extension. In this last case, Yamaha will theoretically open the doors to the Petronas Yamaha SRT team for him with a factory bike.
Yes, but on the Sepang side, we do not seem enthusiastic about the idea, given the tone of the comments made recently by
Razlan Razali à CNNIndonesia.com : “ The discussion has actually taken place within the Yamaha factory team that we might be open to Rossi's arrival. We have never considered and will not consider this subject until Rossi meets with us and declares his intention. Are we ready to welcome Rossi? We need to discuss this with a number of parties, including our sponsor Petronas. Right now, until there's an approach, we're not thinking about it. »
The least we can say is that the nine-time Italian champion does not seem very coveted by the Malaysian team, which prefers to rely on young people to, in the long term, give a chance to a Malaysian driver, rather than welcome the Doctor in the role of pre-retiree teaching his knowledge to Franco Morbidelli (but does he still need it?) or even to Luca marini in the event of the latter’s Moto2 world title this year…
Besides, wouldn't the person himself prefer to turn the page on motorcycling and head towards a new career in automotive, while remaining Iwata's iconic ambassador?
Razlan Razali also declared himself delighted with the appointment of his current pilot Fabio Quartararo in the future official structure 2021-2022: “ For us, it's a natural process for riders like Quartararo to become part of the factory team. As a satellite team we try to help and ensure that Quartararo stays at Yamaha, especially in the factory team. I'm delighted that the announcement has been made, so that Quartararo can focus 200% on MotoGP in 2020 without worrying about where he will go in 2021 disrupting him. »
