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Quotes from Valentino Rossi, Masao Furusawa and Lin Jarvis

Posted on 08 November 2010. Tags: , , , ,

Valentino Rossi
“This is a very emotional day but I’m very happy as well because I don’t have any regrets and there have been no bad moments or thoughts throughout these seven seasons together with Yamaha. From the beginning it was something great and we worked very well together. Like in life, in sport the results are crucial but just as important is the enjoyment and we had this at Yamaha. We had a great fusion in my team – the Australians, the Italians, the Japanese, the English and many more…a lot of people all together having fun. If in 2004 somebody had told me that I would win four world championships with Yamaha and 46 Grand Prix I would have signed in blood! I am happy. I have to thank first of all Masao Furusawa because we went through some difficult moments but we were able to improve the bike and make it the best machine, then I just have to say a big thank you to everybody who helped me in these seven seasons, and wish everyone good luck.”

Masao Furusawa
“I would like to thank Valentino very much, I started in MotoGP in 2003 and it was a terrible year, it was almost like I was in hell! I really wanted to make the YZR-M1 a better bike but the more investigated it, the more I realised I needed something else, more than the bike. So we found Valentino Rossi. First of all I didn’t believe Valentino would come to Yamaha because the bike wasn’t great but somehow it worked. After South Africa in 2004 I felt like I was in heaven, it was a very exciting and memorable year. In 2004 Valentino was the only one who could win on the YZR-M1 so he contributed a lot to developing the bike. This year not only Valentino but also three other riders were fast so it’s clear that our YZR-M1 is a pretty good bike. This is mainly because of Valentino’s contributions over the years so I really appreciate that and I want to wish him all the best in the future.”

Lin Jarvis
“In 2003 when we had our worst year ever in GP racing and finally we said that whatever we were going to do, without Valentino Rossi on the seat it wasn’t going to work! That was the point where we decided that we needed him. There were some exciting and secretive negotiations with Valentino and it was a very important decision but, with the backing of Masao Furusawa and the President of Yamaha Motor Company, we made it happen. It was ‘do or die’. With a huge commitment from Yamaha, the engineers and everybody in the team we made it work. We are very, very grateful because Valentino’s arrival really turned things around for Yamaha and we came back to victorious ways. We are incredibly thankful and grateful to him for that. We’ve had so many exciting and enjoyable moments with him and with the crew that he brought with him, who are great guys. Today we will be saying goodbye to a great number of people including Davide Brivio, Jerry Burgess and the whole crew. We’ve had a super time, it’s been a really excellent team and we will miss them tomorrow, it will be a strange day.”

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Yamaha’s Masao Furusawa has given Rossi the all clear to ride for his 2011 Ducati team

Yamaha’s Masao Furusawa has given Rossi the all clear to ride for his 2011 Ducati team

Posted on 18 October 2010. Tags: , , , , ,

Valentino Rossi had indicated that he has been given permission by Yamaha’s Executive Officer for Engineering Operations, Masao Furusawa, to test with Ducati in Valencia next month.

The question of whether the 31 year-old would be allowed by Yamaha to ride the Desmosedici for the team with which he has signed for the 2011 season remained a matter of great interest amongst the media, and in an interview with Italian MotoGP broadcaster Italia 1 Rossi said he had finally received clearance from Furusawa after speaking with him on Saturday evening.

“Furusawa called me and told me it was a way of saying thanks for what I have done for Yamaha,” Rossi told Italia 1. “I think it’s a nice gesture and it shows that Yamaha has valued the things done over these years.”

Upon hearing the news MotoGP Project Manager for Ducati Alessandro Cicognani told motogp.com in an interview: “I haven’t heard what Rossi or Yamaha have said exactly, but I was told about this so I am really happy. I think in a way it’s like a present from Yamaha to Valentino after what he has done for them.”

“We can be happy with this and I would like to thank, in a way, Yamaha. I have good relations with Lin Jarvis and I take this chance to thank him because he has always been fair and open to discussion. It’s not easy and it’s great. So we will work now and finish the season, and then start again for 2011 just after the Valencia race.”

Cicognani continued: “I think for everybody that this test is important because, due to the testing restrictions, I think it’s fair that every rider has the chance to test the bike he is going to ride the following year. So for everybody it would be important. He will test the 2011 bike for sure, and we will see. We are working on it!”

The news came after Rossi finished third in the Iveco Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, having risen from eighth on the starting grid to make a last-lap overtake on Nicky Hayden and secure his eighth podium of the season.

“To start eighth and finish third is not a bad result and, considering the trouble we had this weekend, we can be happy,” said Rossi of his race. “Today Casey was riding in a different sport and I want to say congratulations to him. The podium was the maximum for us but it was still a hard fight to get there.”

“I had great fun with Nicky at the end because in some places he was faster than me and I really had to push, but the podium here is so important for me and I couldn’t give it up easily. We have had three podiums in a row, including one win, and after this difficult season I am happy about this. Today we won the Team title and I am happy for us all and for Yamaha.”

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Fiat Yamaha Valentino Rossi Video Interview

Posted on 01 March 2010. Tags: ,

Fiat Yamaha have released a couple of video interviews with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. The interviews see the riders look back at the 2009 MotoGP season, discusses what they will spend their time doing in the winter break, and what their expectations are of the forthcoming 2010 MotoGP season.

Valentino Rossi Interview:

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Valentino Rossi Interview 2010 – Q&A

Valentino Rossi Interview 2010 – Q&A

Posted on 06 February 2010. Tags: , ,

What have you been doing during the off-season? How much training and how much holidaying?
If my time during winter was 100, let’s say 50/50 between holiday and training. I went to the mountains with my friends and I snowboarded with them, which is my favourite winter sport. My training during the winter break is very different than the standard one during the MotoGP season. Anyway, I have never stopped training, otherwise it would be very much difficult to start riding again this year.

How do you prepare for a new season? Is it more important to work on your fitness these days?
Training has become more and more important, because MotoGP bikes are more and more difficult to be ridden and you need power and resistance for the 45 minutes of the race. You also have to get to the new season start in the best possible shape. At the gym, my training is pretty normal, with weights, but I always try to ride motocross or supermotard bikes at the ‘cava’, in order to not lose the feeling with the throttle.

At the age of 31 (nearly) do you think you are still improving as a racer or do you think you have reached the peak of your talents?
On 16th February I will be 31. I will be a little older… I always try to be at the top of my shape, improving and trying to adapt to the new bike. You always need to adapt yourself to the new bike, to the new regulation. If you think you are at the top of your performance, it is a big problem! Every season has its own story, it is more and more difficult and you always have to be faster. I will try again, as usual.

Who do you think will be toughest to beat this season, Jorge, Casey or Dani, and why?
It is very difficult to say now who will be the hardest rival this year. I think all of them are on the same level, it is difficult to beat any of them. They are very strong riders, they can be fast on every track and condition and through the entire season and they are all capable of winning the championship. The 2010 bikes will make the difference, but I think all three riders will be the more difficult to be beaten.

You have made no secret of the fact that you are not happy about the new engine rule restricting the amount of engines that can be used in a season. How would you change it, if you could?
This rule is not fantastic for MotoGP. It will make everybody’s lives very difficult. To me it is not right that MotoGP have six engines only for the entire season, it is too tight. The rule is aimed to save money, but I think engines should be at least eight; ten would be easier and less risky. All manufacturers will have to adapt to the new rule and all riders will have to be careful, in order to save the engines and arrive at the end of the season with six engines only.

Last year you made more mistakes than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing you make. Do you think this was to do with the level your rivals pushed you to or what?
Rivals pressure is always very high, every year. In 2009 I did three mistakes during races, which is too much, but at least two of them were very particular, because it was raining and I had slick tyres. In Indianapolis, instead, I had the worst accident and I could avoid it. In 2010 we will try to stay as much concentrated as possible and to avoid those mistakes.

What developments have you personally asked to be made to the M1 for this season?
In order to improve the 2010 M1 we have decided to focus on two aspects: we have improved the chassis, that I tested in Valencia with. Our aim is to develop a more stable bike, with more grip. The second direction, which is the most important, is the engine. We need more horsepower, despite the new rule that limits the number of engines through the season. We need more power and longer life of the engine. This will not be easy for Yamaha, but I know that they have been working very hard on this.

What’s your opinion about Ben Spies? Do you think he can be a threat to the current ‘big four’, as many people say he will be?
There is a lot of expectation about Ben Spies. I think Spies is a very good rider and has a great talent. It is not a case that he is the current Superbike World Champion! He will surely be very competitive, he has a good potential, he’s fast and brave, but of course I hope he will be less fast than we will be, because four strong riders are already too many…

What are your thoughts about the news of 1000cc engines returning in two seasons’ time? Is that an exciting prospect that makes you want to commit to MotoGP for even longer?
Theoretically, I am very happy to go back to the 1000cc, because I like it more than 800cc and it is more fun. Of course we will have to see how the technical regulation will be for these engines and we will have to see whether they are fast and fun to ride like they were in 2006. Anyway, going back to 1000cc is an important challenge, as far as my motivation are concerned, and may convince me to stay in MotoGP for longer.

Following your recent Ferrari F1 test, people are asking once again if you will move to F1. What do you say about this, and how do you expect Ferrari to do this year?
I had the chance to drive the Ferrari F1 car in Barcelona. It was great, I had fun and it was a very good test, with good lap times, but I think that it will be very difficult to see me driving in Formula One.

What do you think about Schumacher returning to F1?
It has been an interesting and curious choice. It will be nice to see Michael again on a F1 car and see if he can be as fast as he used to be before retiring.

Is what Schumacher is doing something you could see yourself doing, i.e. leaving MotoGP for a few years and then returning? Or do you think that, when you do decide to retire, it will be for good?
I don’t know. It is a difficult question. A lot of great sportsmen such as Michael Jordan retired and then came back, as well as Armstrong. Honestly, my objective is to not retire at all and, if I do it, I would do something else. But I don’t know, it is really very difficult to say.

When do you expect to make a decision about your future?
It is difficult to say a date, anyway during the next summer I will have my ideas more clear about my future, about 2011 and 2012. I am very good in Yamaha, so I will talk to them first. Then we will see.

Can you shed any light on what you’re planning?
I can tell you that I am building a new house. All the rest, I don’t know; I have not decided yet.

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