P120
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
B
um in the butter. Cake and
eat it. Carte blanche. A
win-win situation.
And who could begrudge it of
Valentino Rossi? The old man
of the grid's latest career move
gives him exactly what he wants
from Yamaha.
Whether he wanted it or not.
The second Japanese factory,
still struggling to get back on
terms with Honda and Ducati,
has had its hands tied for a cou-
ple of years now, by the pres-
ence of Valentino. He is arguably
the greatest of all time. But he is
also arguably increasingly past
his sell-by date.
His last win—out of a total of
89 in the premier class—was
back in 2017 at Assen.
Yamaha dare not drop him.
Just imagine the fans' fall-out.
Not to mention his own rage,
with the loss of the chance of
adding the crucial eight wins he
needs to beat Agostini's all-time
all-class tally of 122. Or, more to
the point, at being denied the
chance to continue at the top
level of the sport that he still so
conspicuously loves, passion
undimmed.
QUO VADIS, VALENTINO
(WHITHER GOEST THOU)
Yamaha retains
Vinales, acquires
Quartararo, and keeps
Rossi. Problem solved.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
