The worries of Rossi’s future boss in MotoGP

Yamaha Petronas-SRT team boss Razlan Razali admits having doubts about future recruit Valentino Rossi after his disappointing first race at the Spanish GP, but the Doctor’s return to the podium at the Andalusian GP reassured the manager Malay ! Balance sheet.

While Valentino Rossi has been announcing since mid-July that his passage from the official Yamaha team to the private Petronas-SRT team would be "99%" recorded, the official announcement is still late in coming at the beginning of August … The reason? Reluctance expressed several times by the owner of the Malay structure !

• MNC of July 13, 2020 :

• MNC of April 28, 2019 : 

• MNC file : All MotoGP news

Although delighted to welcome a star like Rossi – who is also very popular in Asia – Razlan Razali nevertheless intends to remain master at home: no question of giving in to all the requirements of No. 46, nor to those of Yamaha who arranged this transfer to satisfy above all the Italian star. 

Razlan Razali, proud to have reached such a level so quickly in MotoGP thanks to the brilliant Fabio Quartararo – currently -, was very clear: he will not upset either his organization chart or his organization to make way for n ° 46 and his gang.

"We don’t want our team to be famous thanks to Valentino: we want any driver who rides for us to get results," says Razali, who is in a way afraid of living in the shadow of a giant. "In a way, having created something from scratch and getting to where we are today with Fabio makes me happier".

"I had doubts after the first race"

Until an agreement is officially found, the first races of the 2020 season are closely scrutinized by the boss of the Petronas-SRT team, who openly questions the competitiveness and motivation of his future "young" recruit of 41 years… 

 

Does Rossi join his team with the ambition and the ability to aim for a final blow of glory, or on the contrary to start a kind of farewell tour with no prospect of performance? The Malaysian team would then lose twice: because of the lack of results of course, but also and above all because it would definitely be associated with the decline of the greatest driver of the modern era of Grand Prix….

• MNC of July 21, 2020 : Rossi and Yamaha broken down at the Spanish GP 

However, it was not the poor demonstration offered by Valentino Rossi during the opening race in Jerez (Spain) which reassured Razali: never in the rhythm at the Spanish GP, the n ° 46 did not show up there. only a shadow of himself before giving up the race following a frustrating engine failure !

This failed start was all the more worrying as all the other Yamaha had brilliantly illustrated in both practice and race: a victorious double for Quartararo and Viñales, with a solid 5th place won by the second Petronas-SRT rider, Franco Morbidelli.

 

"To be honest, I had my doubts after the first race," admits Razlan Razali to our colleagues at La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Malaysian leader admits to having wondered about Rossi’s speed and his ability to bounce back … before seeing his doubts swept away by the spectacular return of the dean of the plateau the following week on the same circuit for the GP of Andalusia.

Valentino Rossi, immediately in the game and qualified 4th, climbed to third place behind Quartararo and Viñales, not without having stood up to his young teammate in the last part of the race. Size performance in the Andalusian furnace: 36 ° C in the air and 59 ° C on the ground !

• MNC of July 27, 2020 : Rossi presses Yamaha and lifts his 235th trophy

"Everyone kept telling me that the Doctor would come back and he did it," enthuses Razlan Razali, tacitly acknowledging his error in judgment. "He impressed me a lot! He deserves a big hat tip, especially considering the extreme conditions in which the race took place".

And this return to the forefront does not only delight Razali: the team’s partners – including the powerful Malaysian oil company Petronas – were also able to reassure themselves about the value of their next investment. !

Sealed deal for San Marino GP ?

"This podium makes everything easier: what he did on Sunday makes things easier to legitimize his choice with the shareholders", admits bluntly Razlan Razali, who also left his post as CEO of the Sepang circuit last spring to devote oneself fully to the Sepang Racing Team (SRT). 

 

The boss of the Yamaha Petronas-SRT team – above in the background on the left – now hopes to be able to reveal the signing of the agreement with the transalpine genius on the occasion of his National Grand Prix in San Marino, scheduled for September 13. Even before…

"If we can do it before, so much the better, but doing it at home would be even better", announces Razali who has also just renewed the contract of Franco Morbidelli, one of Valentino Rossi’s proteges..

"Certain things remain to be defined, not so much related to Valentino and the question of the mechanics but rather around the finalization of the structure between Yamaha, VR46 (the academy and the team launched by Rossi, editor’s note) and the Sepang circuit This is why it takes a little time, ”says Razali. A transfer to follow closely on MNC: stay connected !

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