03silversvs said:
I just started watching Moto GP this year and I am curious as to why Valentino Rossi switched to Yamaha when clearly Honda bikes dominate. It is obvious he is the best rider, but why would he drop the best bike. Was it a contract issue? Thanks for the help.
As stated earlier - He mostly wanted the challenge. It was just too easy for him to win (nearly) every race he ran. He was bored kicking everyone else's butts week in week out and wanted new goals for himself. In short,
Rossi Wants The Record Book to have his name all over it
-
Being the frst rider ever in GP history to win consecutive races on different brands DONE
-
Being only the 3rd rider EVER to win GP championships on different maker's bikes Work In Progress
- - - Eddie Lawson (Yamaha/Honda) and Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta/Yamaha)
-
Being only the second rider in GP history to win consecutive Championships on different brands Work In Progress
- - - Eddie Lawson - 88 on a yammy and 89 on a Honda
As of this moment, Rossi is one championship short of tie~ing Mike Hailwood and Eddie Lawson's achievements of 4 apiece, except CONSECUTIVELY, which Eddie Lawson didn't do. Mick Doohan's record is 5 consecutive championships (all on Honda), so V/R has to win the next 2 to trump M/D since there'd be two makers involved. That could actually happen. A b***** question is whether or not Rossi hang around long enough to beat Giacomo Agostini's record of eight (7 consecutive).
Valentino Rossi wants his name to be at the top of the list of The Greatest Ever.
Reportedly, Valentino also had some serious issues with the way HRC likes to run things. He wanted input into the bike's technical direction. He wanted input as to how the team was run. Unfortunately, in HRC~land the rider is merely an employee, just the same as a mechanic or an engineer. His Honda bosses (again, reportedly) told Valentino that if he didn't like the way things were run, then he could go pound pasta.
Sticking it to the folks who treat you like that has *got* to be fun!
Scott
