The Spanish Grand Prix, which will mark the fourth meeting of the season, will not begin this Friday with the first free practice sessions on the Jerez track. It will open at Thursday's press conference when the long-awaited announcement becomes official. That of the arrival of Lorenzo at Ducati which will open the doors of Yamaha wide for Viñales. A relief for Rossi? Even!
The presence of Lin Jarvis at the press conference in place of Valentino Rossi is the sign of a major announcement from Yamaha. Paradoxically, it is first of all good news for Ducati that the boss of the Japanese troops on the track will mark the official seal. Jorge Lorenzo, a rider serving the three forks in MotoGP since 2008, and with three crowns won in the premier category of Grands Prix, has changed his mind: he will not spend his entire career with the Iwata factory. It turns red, giving the green light for his succession.
Who in his place alongside a Valentino Rossi new boss of the Yamaha box? The name of Maverick Vinales is favored by all the predictions. And first that of the Doctor. Since the start of the season, he has only had good words for the current Suzuki official, who is only 21 years old. And the latter gives the impression, as a future good student ready to train to ensure, when the day comes, succession.
However, it would be wrong to stop at these friendly appearances and consider Maverick as a lamb. Here we must remember his journey marked by character and independence. Motorcycling has been in his blood since the age of 3 and in his skin with a busy private life alongside a partner who is an expert in motocross. He also has a hard head. From 2009, Honda and Repsol followed him very closely after his career at CEV where he took the titles of vice-Spanish Champion and 125cc European Champion. In 2011, he arrived in the Grand Prix and won his first victory at Le Mans with the Aprilia. Overall, he scored four goals and finished his apprenticeship with the title of Rookie of the Year.
The installation of Moto3 gives him the opportunity to mess around in broad daylight with Honda. Within the Blusens Avintia team, he fought for the title in 2012 which he had to leave to Cortese better armed with the KTM. Technical problems castrate his speed and tensions appear until they burst into broad daylight. Determined, he accepts and turns his back on Honda, a maneuver generally synonymous with professional suicide. But within the Calvo team, he got on a KTM in 2013 and snatched the world title on the last lap of the last race at alex rins.
A response on the track which says a lot about the determination of this Spaniard who will convince Suzuki of his talent after only one season in Moto2 marked by four victories and a new status as best beginner of the year. A title also won last year with the GSX-RR in MotoGP.
All that to say that we don't do it to him Maverick Vinales. At Yamaha, he will be a long-toothed teammate who will not be there to play the ideal son-in-law. His journey, marked by a head-on collision with Honda, shows this. He was not afraid to twist the models, to defy certainties, to leave the broad and clean road of a sector to take the side roads and find himself, against all odds, among the pilots that all the factories must consider. Por Fuera may be on his way out, but Valentino Rossi will have to deal with another animal.
