Photo: Valentino Rossi
Next week will bring a most interesting moment for the fans of MotoGP. In one of his recent tweets, Valentino Rossi showed up with what appears to be his new motorcycle for the 2016 season, adding that the machine will be unveiled next week in Spain, at Barcelona.
Rossi says that the first shooting with the new bike already took place, and the YZR-M1 looks awesome but photos will only make it to the press next week. Most likely, the photos will be released around the same moment when the bike(s) will be unveiled, so there is a little wait ahead.
Now, the biggest question is, obviously, if Yamaha will have both its riders in the unveiling event, or will stage a separate bash showing Jorge Lorenzo's bike. If we remember Lin Jarvis' words, the Yamaha Racing boss was trying to make ends meet, glad to be English, instead of Spanish or Italian, which would have made his mission extremely hard.
"Italians are expected to take the side of an Italian rider, while Spaniards will support a Spanish rider. I have a lot of experience in this, both positive and negative. I tried to stay true to myself and not to panic, trying instead to find solution that take all into account," he said back in December, adding that he wants to focus on sport as much as possible and leave the Sepang story and what followed after it all behind.
At the same time, Rossi knows that his fan base is simply huge, impossible to compare with Lorenzo's, and might want to exploit this, increasing his symbolic capital.
Pulling such a stunt on Spanish ground would, of course, upset Jorge Lorenzo quite a lot. Not sure what Yamaha has to say about this, but Rossi certainly knows that even the smallest so-called victories against his teammate (funny word, huh?) may play a role in the next championship.
Upsetting Lorenzo increases the chances of shifting his focus and make mistakes. Some say this is a bit of a dirty play. It may be so, but in this case, Rossi is not the only one who has played this game during the past several months. Cometh M1 unveiling!
Now, the biggest question is, obviously, if Yamaha will have both its riders in the unveiling event, or will stage a separate bash showing Jorge Lorenzo's bike. If we remember Lin Jarvis' words, the Yamaha Racing boss was trying to make ends meet, glad to be English, instead of Spanish or Italian, which would have made his mission extremely hard.
"Italians are expected to take the side of an Italian rider, while Spaniards will support a Spanish rider. I have a lot of experience in this, both positive and negative. I tried to stay true to myself and not to panic, trying instead to find solution that take all into account," he said back in December, adding that he wants to focus on sport as much as possible and leave the Sepang story and what followed after it all behind.
We would not be surprised to see Rossi putting up a show for himself
Seeing Rossi playing it cool and pretending all is fine in official photos near Lorenzo is, in fact, what we expect. Regardless of how cold the relationship between its two contracted riders grew, Yamaha has to check certain boxes, so their enmity is probably among the last things on Yamaha's list.At the same time, Rossi knows that his fan base is simply huge, impossible to compare with Lorenzo's, and might want to exploit this, increasing his symbolic capital.
Pulling such a stunt on Spanish ground would, of course, upset Jorge Lorenzo quite a lot. Not sure what Yamaha has to say about this, but Rossi certainly knows that even the smallest so-called victories against his teammate (funny word, huh?) may play a role in the next championship.
Upsetting Lorenzo increases the chances of shifting his focus and make mistakes. Some say this is a bit of a dirty play. It may be so, but in this case, Rossi is not the only one who has played this game during the past several months. Cometh M1 unveiling!
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