It’s official … Valentino Rossi will be on Bridgestone tires for 2008. A press release from the Fiat Yamaha team after the Valencia race stated that world 250 champ Jorge Lorenzo will be joining Rossi on the factory team, only he will be on Michelins, with which Yamaha is formally affiliated, while Rossi’s bike will run Bridgestones, out of a separate garage to “ensure confidentiality of data for each tyre company”.
This one sounds like a nightmare in the works. Rossi’s attitude this season has been a bit disappointing, really – surprising for somebody who’s always been known for his sportsmanship and professionalism.
He’s come out in public several times blaming both Yamaha and Michelin for not giving him what he wants, and after the Valencia race, where he pulled into the pits and retired claiming an unspecified engine problem, he stated to the press that “Yamaha lost the second place in the championship, not me.”
Bad sport, Val.
In related news, the hated rule (at least by Michelin teams) limiting the number of tires a team can use over a weekend will be changed in 2008, upping the number from 32 to 40.
Aren’t you being a little hard on the beaver Larry? After so many years of flying as close to the sun as Rossi has, the fall from grace has to really hurt. If you ask me the Bridgestones aren’t going to help; I think we’ve been seeing the beginning of a changing of the guard.