Needless to say, yesterday afternoon saw an emotional Rossi in the MotoGP paddock, as the Italian admitted it's not easy to leave a team that has been part of his life for the last 7 years. Especially since he took Yamaha from the middle of the classification and turned it into a title contender year in and year out.
“It is very difficult to explain in just a few words what my relationship with Yamaha has been in these past seven years,” said Rossi, according to Autosport.
“Many things have changed since that far-off time in 2004, but especially 'she', my M1, has changed. At that time she was a poor middle-grid position MotoGP bike, derided by most of the riders and the MotoGP workers. Now, after having helped her to grow and improve, you can see her smiling in her garage, courted and admired, treated as the 'top of the class',” added the Italian rider.
After thanking a lot of people inside the Yamaha organization who have been supporting him for all these years – the list includes Masao Furusawa, Masahiko Nakajima, Hiroya Atsumi, Jeremy Burgess and his mechanics – Rossi relived the experience of his first win with Yamaha, back in the 2004 South African GP, and admitted it is now time to move on to another challenge.
“Unfortunately even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me 'I love you! Now the moment has come to look for new challenges; my work here at Yamaha is finished,” added Rossi.
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