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Lin Jarvis has been forced to go through an incredible number of unforeseen events in this early part of the season. Events such as the sacking of Vinales, the retirement of Rossi and the abandonment of the sponsor Petronas. Here in this interview with Lin is the story of how the facts are linked together.
Lin Jarvis: "What happened with Vinales was totally unexpected"
“What happened in the Styrian GP (with Vinales) was something unexpected. Obviously in Assen we had a request from the rider to terminate the contract and it was something strange. We had had ups and downs in our relationship and in Germany his performance was totally out of the ordinary, Maverick finished last and his teammate first. First, we changed his crew chief, something Yamaha decided in agreement with the rider to try to have more consistent performance. The race in Barcelona was not bad, Maverick finished fifth and then there was the Sachsenring GP. When we arrived in Assen it was clear that he wanted to terminate the contract because he didn't have any confidence in the team and it was strange for us, because we were leading the constructors’ and teams’ championships and with Fabio the riders’ championship. Maverick was first in the tests in Barcelona and in the Assen GP he was second, it is difficult to say that his performance was a disaster. Anyway the rider wanted to leave and we didn't want to force anyone to stay and be unhappy, it's never a good situation ”.
Lin Jarvis: "Yamaha decided on suspension and then separation. This gave rise to opportunities"
In Assen you decided to split up…
"We agreed to end the relationship in a positive way. We could have stopped it mid-season or arrive at the end professionally. It was the right thing to do, Yamaha would have given him maximum support and the rider would have collaborated in the best possible way with a positive mentality. We had decided to finish the season in style ”.
It didn't happen…
"After the summer break we came to the Styrian GP and the race was interrupted after the accident of Savadori and Pedrosa. At the restart everything went wrong for Maverick, he told us that his bike had cut out on the grid and he had to start from the pit lane, these things can happen. What happened in the race was something out of the ordinary, I had never seen such a thing before. It was something totally unexpected, we wanted to finish the season with him, Maverick was important to our plans because we wanted to fight for the title with him. It was a surprise for us, I had never been in that situation before ”.
Was it difficult to make the final break?
“The suspension was decided by Yamaha. We investigated what had happened in depth and were not satisfied with what he had done. This was the main reason; it was a decision solely on our part. Then we talked to him over the weekend and unfortunately, we couldn't sort things out, the best thing was to end the relationship with a consensual agreement between Yamaha and the rider. Clearly we couldn't finish the season in style ”.
Lin Jarvis: "We talked to Petronas and VR46 at the same time, but we didn't want 6 bikes”
Have you talked with Valentino about supplying your bikes to his VR46 team?
“We didn't speak to him directly; he wasn't the person who was dealing with this. Our contract with Petronas expires at the end of the year with options for a renewal. We were naturally interested in what Valentino's plans were for his team. There were talks with both of them, we wanted to treat both options equally and fairly. We didn't want to have six bikes, four is the optimal number for us, so we had to choose to continue with the current partner or switch to VR46, there were pros and cons for both. In the end Yamaha decided it would be wiser to continue with the current partner for various reasons, including the results obtained last year ”.
Despite the VR46 team's decision to race with Ducati, can Valentino Rossi continue to be Yamaha testimonial in the future?
“I think this will not change, as regards Valentino as a testimonial. We have been in a relationship with him for sixteen years. If Rossi had decided to continue as a Ducati rider it would have been another story. The fact that he is not personally involved in the team changes everything: he is clearly the team owner, but that does not change anything, he is not involved in the operations directly. We will continue to support the Academy and provide our bikes to his guys. We have a project with the Mastercamp. We know that Valentino will have the team with Ducati, but he will not be directly involved, so we will be able to continue with him ”.
Lin Jarvis: "We will have to see how to rebuild the supply chain of young riders"
After the decision to continue with the Petronas team, there was a cold shower as the main sponsor decided to quit.
“The change of sponsor will obviously change the situation in the team especially due to the fact that there will be no Moto3 and Moto2 teams. It is certainly a blow and we have to decide what to do and how to react with regards to the supply chain that would bring young riders to the Yamaha MotoGP team. As for Morbidelli, however, our intention with Frankie was to promote him to the official team in 2023, when everyone would be free from contracts again. Obviously, there were some problems with what happened that we turned into opportunities. There was the possibility for him to become official in 2022 due to the separation at the end of the year with Vinales, but the subsequent break with Maverick also gave us the opportunity to let him join the factory team in the middle of the season. We haven't signed anything yet but he will be in the factory team from Misano ”.
Lin Jarvis: "We had already decided to promote Frankie, bu early promotion led to the arrival of Dovizioso in his place"
Originally, as you confirmed, the Petronas team was supposed to help young riders to grow. Now we are talking about the arrival of Dovizioso…
“The original target and future of the Petronas team was to work with young riders, but now there are few who are fast. We would have liked Raul Fernandez, but he was not available. And many young riders have signed with other manufacturers. So in the future in that team we would have a rookie and an experienced rider. We have an agreement with Andrea that he will race in the satellite team in 2021 and then in 2022 with an official M1 ".
Are you still in contact with Bezzecchi for the position of rookie in that team?
“We are in contact with VR46 for Marco Bezzecchi. Obviously, logically, they would like to place him in their team in 2022. Currently, therefore, the current second rider is not yet decided, but we will do it soon, by Misano. "
It is definitive that Razgatlioglu, even if he wins the Superbike World Championship, will not go to MotoGP?
“Toprak Razgatioglu will not move to MotoGP in 2022. He and his management have decided to stay in SBK. In a perfect world, if he wins the Superbike World Championship it would be ideal to make him go to MotoGP, but it would still be too late. Having said that, it seems to me that he doesn't want to do it. If he became champion it would be fantastic, if he repeated the title in 2022 it would be even better. Why not think about a move to MotoGP in 2023? "
