The recent info on Rossi's contractual situation suggests that Yamaha might try to keep Rossi outside the Ducati garage until January 1, 2011, therefore forcing him to miss the first few tests on the 2011-spec bike. Such rumors appeared after Yamaha's Masao Furusawa told the media that the 9-time world champion would wear blue until the end of the year.
The last time a team prevented a rider from joining his new employer before the end of the calendar year – this is how contracts are made, but most of the times the squads proceed to a sporting gesture and allow their riders to leave their garage after the last round of the season – was in 2003, with the same Rossi in the spotlight. Back then, Honda denied him the opportunity to join Yamaha before January 1, 2004.
“We will grant any of Furusawa's wishes, we'll even paint the bike blue,” joked Ducati team boss Filipo Preziosi in a recent interview with Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I don't want to believe that (Yamaha won't allow Rossi to test) and it would be bad - last time that happened (Honda in 2003) it didn't bring much luck,” added the Ducati boss.
Preziosi insisted that it is very important for Rossi to join Ducati's development team as soon as possible, as switching bikes for the 2011 season is already a low point in his preparation for the upcoming campaign. While he'll have to get used to his new machine, Rossi's most likely rival for the 2011 title Jorge Lorenzo will continue to ride on the same Yamaha bike, which makes him “super favorite” for next year in Preziosi's mind.
Google News