Q&A: Yamaha on Rossi - part two.

In the second of three Q&A sessions with senior members of Yamaha, team director of Yamaha's factory outfit, Davide Brivio, states that Rossi winning the 2004 world championship is unlikely, reveals the personnel changes made to accommodate the five-times world champion and also confirms that Rossi will ride the M1 for the first time on January 20th, following Honda's refusal to release the #46 early...

Q: With Valentino joining your team, you will obviously need to make changes. Who from his Honda team will Valentino bring with him?

Davide Brivio: Jeremy Burgess will come to Yamaha as Valentino's crew chief, accompanied by Alex Briggs, Bernard Ansiau, and Gary Coleman, three of his existing mechanics. They will work with Brent Stephens, one of our own mechanics, and Matteo Flamigni our data acquisition technician.

Q: Is it true that you 'let some of your team members go' before the Valencia GP to make way for the new crew?

Davide Brivio: It is true that we have not renewed a number of staff agreements that expired at the end of 2003. We informed a number of our team staff even before Valencia that we could not guarantee their positions for next year due to the likelihood that we could sign Valentino and may need to make changes to the technical support staff. We have now informed those concerned that we will not be able to renew their contracts. It is always difficult to lose staff, especially when as in this case they have all been extremely good at their jobs. Unfortunately that is very much the nature of working in this sport - that major changes can take place on a yearly basis.

Q: Was it Valentino's request that members of his crew come with him?

Davide Brivio: It was a mutual decision between Valentino and Yamaha - in order to create the best possible working environment for Valentino when he comes to Yamaha, we have made some adjustments to the existing team. Valentino has an excellent working relationship with some of his present crew, and in order for him to feel as comfortable as possible and to integrate him as smoothly as possible into the all-new Yamaha set-up we have built a team around him that includes some of his 2003 staff. The final support crew will be a mix of existing Yamaha technical staff with some members of Valentino's 2003 crew.

Q: Is it true that team manager Geoff Crust (lower pic) will not work for the team next year?

Davide Brivio: Geoff has been a very valuable part of our set up for a number of years in his role as team manager for the Yamaha factory team. It is true that he will not continue that role within the team for 2004. The basic reason is that we shall change our working system and we need the team management staff to be based permanently in Italy at the team headquarters. Geoff has always been based in the UK and it would not have been practical for him to make the move. Geoff and Yamaha are discussing future options.

Q: Is it now Yamaha's aim to win the World Championship with Valentino in 2004?

Davide Brivio: Of course when you start any new season the dream is to be able to challenge to win the championship but I think that 2004 will be a year for Valentino to establish a good working relationship, to clarify where we need to go with the M1 development, and hopefully in that process we will be able to challenge for individual race wins and to prepare the base for the future. Our 2005 target is certainly to go for the World Championship with Valentino. Carlos is of course more used to the M1 and can be at his maximum from the beginning of the season.

Q: Does it worry you that if Valentino wins with this bike, people will say it's just because of the rider, not the bike?

Davide Brivio: I think that if we win races next year people will recognise that it is because we have made a huge effort and that the package we have put together is working.

Q: If Valentino cannot win with the M1, are you worried that it will be negative for Yamaha?

Davide Brivio: It is true that in some senses we are taking a risk. With Valentino riding our bike we can make no excuses if we are off the pace. However, we are ready to accept that challenge and we have every confidence that we can deliver a good package next year.

Q: In the past Yamaha has had a policy of not having a clear number one rider. Is this still the case?

Davide Brivio: It is fair to say that our focus next year will be on Valentino but we do not think that this will disadvantage the other Yamaha riders. We are expecting to work closely with Valentino and Carlos to adapt the bike to their individual needs. All in all Yamaha has a very strong line up next year and I think having Valentino as the lead rider will be good for everyone.

Q: Have there been any developments on when Valentino will be able to test the M1 for the first time?

Davide Brivio: Valentino's contract with Honda will cease on 31st December 2003. We have approached Honda to see whether they would be willing to free Valentino early in order for him to take place in our test in Malaysia on the 28/29/30 November.

I thought they would accept since it's fairly normal for factories to release riders from their contracts early to test with a new manufacturer. Unfortunately they refused us permission but that's just the way it goes. We will go ahead with our November test with Carlos Checa and our Japanese test riders. And as it stands Valentino will test on the 20th January, also at Sepang in Malaysia.