Earlier this season, Valentino Rossi dropped the bombshell that he would be doing an about face and return to Yamaha Racing, after his failed experiment with Ducati Corse. Almost as soon as The Doctor was done making his announcement regarding his return, chatter started about whether Jeremy Burgess and his crew would join Rossi at Yamaha as well.
Confirming that news today, MCN‘s Matthew Birt talked to Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis, who confirmed that Yamaha wasn’t trying to maintain Ben Spies’ crew within the team, and that the venerable Burgess would join Rossi in the factory team’s garage.
Signing two-year deals with Yamaha at the Motegi round last weekend, Rossi’s Australian crew is perhaps not as critical of a component to his return to Yamaha, as it was thought imperative when the Italian went to race for Ducati, though the thought of Burgess et al not accompanying Rossi to Yamaha was an equally unthinkable prospect.
In total six crew members will follow Rossi from Ducati Corse to Yamaha Racing, where the nine-time World Champion will attempt to restart his career after a leg & shoulder injury and two years at Ducati removed him from the top of MotoGP time sheets.
Yamaha has confirmed that Jeremy Burgess, Alex Briggs, Bernie Ansiau, Gary Coleman, Brent Stephens, and Matteo Flamigni will begin work on the 2013 Yamaha YZR-M1 starting at the Valencia test in November, right after the 2012 Valencian GP.
Facing an even faster than before teammate in Jorge Lorenzo, as well as a rebooted Dani Pedrosa, not to mention the addition of Marc Marquez for 2013, Valentino Rossi has some stiff competition in front of him, as he finishes out the tail-end of his career.
Will we see Rossi on the podium? Will he win a race? Does he have a shot at the Championship? These are all questions that are on minds of MotoGP & VR46 fans, though the answers are not readily apparent. One thing is for certain though, Rossi will want not for any additional support, as his usual crew will be undertaking yet another adventure with him.
Source: MCN; Photo: © 2012 Scott Jones / Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved
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