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NEWS
Confirmed: Rossi back on a Yamaha
The Italian multiple world champion is calling time his hapless association with Ducati, and will return to Yamaha on a two-year contract starting in 2013The open secret is officially out – Valentino Rossi is reuniting with Yamaha’s factory MotoGP team, starting in 2013.
The announcement from Yamaha wasn’t expected until this week, but the company saw no reason not to delay the inevitable once all the paperwork was finalised. The parties have signed a two-year deal, but so far no word on a rumoured 2015 affiliation to go World Superbike racing.
“This announcement is once again excellent news for Yamaha,” said Lin Jarvis, the Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing
“In June we were able to sign Jorge Lorenzo for the 2013-14 campaign and now we are able to confirm Valentino Rossi for the next two years. In doing so we have been able to put together the strongest possible team to challenge for victories and to promote the Yamaha brand.
“We have run this ‘super team’ together in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and during that time we achieved the ‘triple crown’ titles with rider, manufacturer and team world championship victories for three consecutive years.
“The signing of Valentino completes our future planning for the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team. Now that this is done we will put our 100 percent efforts into completing the job at hand and to supporting Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo in their search for race victories and for Jorge’s 2012 World Championship title challenge.”
No gushing comment from Rossi yet, but he can -- pending an early release from Ducati, which should be a formality -- expect to ride the Yamaha for the first time since late 2010 straight after the final round of this year's title, slated for Valencia on November 11.
Rossi first joined Yamaha in 2004 and achieved four MotoGP titles with the YZR-M1 in 2004-2005 and again in 2008-2009. He won 46 Grand Prix races with Yamaha over a seven-year period before leaving at the end of the 2010 MotoGP season.
Rossi is presently eighth in the 2012 MotoGP standings on his Ducati, but the collaboration with the Italian manufacturer has been a massive disappointment from the outset.
The MotoGP title resumes at Indianapolis in America this weekend.
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