After his Laguna Seca race debacle, Valentino Rossi said he would take a week off before deciding his future, and his decision should be announced during the Indianapolis GP and based on a part of his post race interview where he spoke about a Yamaha return – after he left at the end of 2010 in what many deemed a diva’s hissy fit because Yamaha wouldn’t choose him over Jorge Lorenzo and they would no longer give him 1st rider and development status – the Italian since then has softened his stance during this rough last season and a half in Ducati:The situation change a lot, because, so – my feeling change a lot, because change the situation.
I mean, I had some problem in the past with Jorge, especially because I was angry with Yamaha.
Because after what all I did for Yamaha, they put me in a team, a very strong teammate.
So I was pissed off with Yamaha, more than him.
Now, now is a different situation.
I understand that anyway Yamaha make the right choice for Yamaha.
And I think this is not a big problem.
This reads very much like a conciliatory statement by Rossi, and Italy’s largest daily sports paper Gazzetta dello Sport has literally jumped on the Yamaha 2013 silly season bandwagon (as almost all Italian sports journalists have) and have published what they ‘believe’ Yamaha has offered the Italian; a two year contract in MotoGP on the factory machine and then another contract to ride in World Superbikes, as the Iwata manufacturer could be plotting a return to the series after their surprise pull out at the end 2011, and that will apparently coincide with the debut of their new Superbike in 2014 that will replace the current YZF-R1.
Rossi has never denied that he would like to finish his racing career in World Superbikes (he rode a Yamaha R1 at Brno in 2010 to test his fitness following his accident at Mugello and he also won the Suzuka 8 hours in 2001 with Colin Edwards), and the idea of the popular Italian star joining the ever-growing production based series could give the Flammini brothers that extra media coverage – just like they did when they wrangled a ride for Max Biaggi after he became a MotoGP pariah – and Mediaset could keep their audience viewing numbers up when they give up their MotoGP broadcasting rights to Sky at the end of 2013 (next year they’ll be transmitting both MotoGP and WSBKs).
Just the idea of Rossi winning a World Superbike championship and try to become the only rider in history to have won in the 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP classes and in WSBKs already has a lot of fans creaming their panties.