IN
THE
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YAMAHA EXPECTS VALENTINO ROSSI
TO STAY IN 2019
Y
amaha's MotoGP Director
Lin Jarvis "fully expects"
nine-time World Champion Val-
entino Rossi to extend his racing
career with the Yamaha factory
into at least the 2019 season.
Jarvis made the comment
when speaking to MotoGP lead
commentator Matthew Birt dur-
ing press day at the Thailand
MotoGP test, saying that while
the team would like to see Rossi
complete a few races early in the
year to gauge his competitive-
ness, he believes Rossi will be
a part of the factory team once
again for 2019 alongside Maver-
ick Vinales, who recently signed
a two year extension for his seat
at Movistar Yamaha.
"Yesterday we were actually
in Manila in Philippines for a
promotional event and Valentino
explained to the media there that
right now he definitely has the
intention and desire to continue,"
Jarvis said. "I can assure you
that nothing is done at the mo-
ment, but I imagine it won't be
too long until Valentino's situa-
tion is clarified and I fully expect
him to be with us again on the
grid next year. It is not yet clear
whether he may decide to do a
one-year contract or perhaps a
two-year contract.
"We're in close contact, we
talked to each other already and
we decided that anyway we'd like
to see a few tests at least under
the belt before making a deci-
sion maybe a few races."
Should Rossi continue rac-
ing in 2019, it will be his 20th
straight year in MotoGP in a
career that started in the 125cc
category in 1996. CN
Valentino Rossi could be around
for another couple of years.
