Unless his performance curve undergoes a radical change in the next three or four races, something unrealistic considering that he has had the worst start of the season in his life, Il Dottore will not have an easy time justifying a renewal that would lead him to run in 2022, already 43 years old.
Since his arrival at the Petronas -sponsored team was announced with a view to 2021, Rossi has insisted that he would only consider extending the agreement if the results validated it, something that has not happened at all at the moment. In fact, Razlan Razali , main team of the Sepang Racing Team (SRT), even revealed that this hypothetical extension was linked, among other factors, to a results clause at a specific time of the season, surely before the break summer. It is evident that the one from Tavullia will not pass that cut.
After the first five stops on the calendar, the #46 is 19th in the general table, with only 9 points. Below him he only has Iker Lecuona (8) and Lorenzo Savadori (2). Rossi always defined himself as a Sunday rider, but this year’s has become an absolute ordeal. His best race was his last, at Le Mans , in which he finished 11th in a completely weather-altered grand prix. At the premiere, in Qatar, he finished 12th, almost 11 seconds behind the winner, Maverick Viñales . A week later he crossed the finish line in 16th place, more than 14 seconds behind Fabio Quartararo . In Portugal he crashed and in Jerez he finished 17th, 22 seconds behind Jack Miller . Saturdays haven’t been much better either. His best position on the grid was the fourth place he occupied in the debut, in Qatar, after benefiting from the slipstream that Pecco Bagnaia gave him. The second time he went to the second screen of qualifying was this Saturday, at Le Mans, where he started ninth. At the Doha Grand Prix he started 21st, and in Portugal and Jerez, 17th. His last victory dates back to 2017 ( Assen ), his last podium finish was the only one in 2020 (Andalusia), and he hasn’t taken a pole for exactly three years ( Mugello , 2018).
The bad moment of the Italian becomes even more evident when crossing his data with those of the other three riders who compete with a Yamaha. Between Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales they have accumulated three of the five victories that have been put at stake. Franco Morbidelli , his neighbor in the Petronas workshop, the only one of the four who races with a bike from last year, got on the podium in Jerez and was fourth in the Algarve . The contrast with the Roman leaves him even more exposed.
“We are running out of ideas,” said Rossi at the end of the event in Jerez. The next day, the test day opened a window of hope –“I have seen smiles in the box that have not been seen for a long time”, he said– which, however, did not help him get out of the pit.
If we take into account all of the above, seeing him on the track for another year would be difficult to understand. First of all, because his word would be compromised by not having fulfilled the objective that he himself marked as essential to follow. And aside from questions of integrity, it would be shocking to see someone with a record as brutal as his extend an anguish that he does not even hide.
“When you’re not going fast or fighting for the podium or front positions, this isn’t fun,” the SRT runner has been repeating lately in his appearances before the press, impregnated in recent times with a melancholy and flat tone, almost sad, very far away of the lucidity and agility that had always characterized him.
If we omit the factor linked to the results, there is another element that has come to the fore in recent weeks and that, as Motorsport.com understands, is very significant when it comes to predicting which path the multi-champion will take: Rossi has been in conversations with Yamaha to try to ‘swipe’ from Petronas the two M1s with which he and Morbidelli run.
Although his entry into SRT was a requirement of the tuning fork brand, it seems impossible for Petronas to agree to keep him in his workshop when he has been directly harmed. Despite the fact that everything indicates that it will finally be able to keep those two Japanese prototypes in 2022. The damage has already been done and it has not been small.
Rossi ‘s retirement is one of the most recurring topics of conversation within the paddock. Most of the members of the teams that have no link with Yamaha or Petronas believe that the next Grand Prix of Valencia will be the last in which they will participate.
The writer of these lines has contacted executives from three of them, and they all agree: “If we have to bet, we would say that Valentino will not continue at 95%” . If the latter is confirmed, the shock will be tremendous for several reasons. In the first place, it will be necessary to see what consequences it has in a contest that will lose its main protagonist of the last two decades, as well as its most important sales argument. We are talking about the driver of the popularization of motorcycling worldwide.
The worst thing about his more than possible goodbye is that, if it happened now, it would take place with empty circuits, without the possibility of saying goodbye to the public that turned him into God. Especially the one in Mugello , his temple, where next week he can run for the last time.
Photo gallery: Valentino Rossi’s 89 victories in 500cc/MotoGP
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