MotoGP Gossip: Rossi open to Petronas Yamaha move

In the latest round-up of MotoGP gossip, Valentino Rossi gives a hint towards his future, Jorge Lorenzo also reveals the next steps of his own career and Wayne Rainey predicts Alex Marquez will hinder and not help Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda.

- Valentino Rossi says he’s open to moving to Petronas Yamaha SRT in the future as he expects the team to be equally as competitive as the factory squad. In a wide-ranging interview covering his recent ride swap with Lewis Hamilton's F1 car and his future beyond MotoGP, Rossi says he’ll decide on whether to continue racing in MotoGP by the middle of this season. (Cycle World)

- Jorge Lorenzo confirms he’s received a test rider role opportunity, believed to be from Yamaha, as he plots the next step of his career after retiring from racing in MotoGP at the end of 2019. Lorenzo competed for Yamaha, winning three MotoGP world titles, between 2008 and 2016. (Motosan.es)

- LCR Honda team boss Lucio Cecchinello says he loves having Cal Crutchlow as his rider but concedes he can cause “some diplomatic problems for us with Honda or Michelin” when he gives strong opinions to the media. At the end of last year, Crutchlow expressed his disappointment at Honda turning down his request to return several HRC staff to his crew for 2020. (GPOne.com)

- Wayne Rainey predicts Marc Marquez will be distracted by having his brother Alex Marquez as his Repsol Honda team-mate in MotoGP which he feels could offer an opportunity for Fabio Quartararo to exploit. (Motorsport-Total)