Valentino Rossi just signed a two-year contract with the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP squad.
This means that the nine-time world champion will race until the end of 2020.
In 2020, Rossi would’ve raced for 25 seasons where 15 of those are with Yamaha.
Good news to all Rossi fans out there. Valentino Rossi has signed a brand new two-year deal with his current Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team which will see the Italian racing until the end of 2020! This also means that by the end of this contract, Rossi would have raced with Yamaha for 15 years out of an astonishing 25 seasons he has been on the grid.
Yamaha and Rossi Confirm Two-Year Contract Extension!
Read: https://t.co/pleMECgM2v#MovistarYamaha | #MotoGP | #QatarGP | @ValeYellow46 pic.twitter.com/zUfHUX6WIU
— Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) March 15, 2018
What started out as one of the most controversial moves in MotoGP history when Rossi moved to Yamaha from Honda turned out to be one for the history books. After winning the 2003 championship with Honda, the man surprised everyone when he won his debut race on the unproven Yamaha and ultimately the 2004 championship as well.
This time around, both the nine-time world champion and Japanese manufacturer are confident that they have what it takes to not only be competitive but fight for the title against the front-runners. With a revived contract and spirit, Rossi is even going ‘old school’ with a classic Sun and Moon design for his 2018 AGV Pista GP R.
According to the 39-year-old Italian, “When I signed my last contract with Yamaha, in March 2016, I wondered if that would have been the last contract as a MotoGP rider. At that time, I decided that I’d take that decision during the following two years. During the last two years, I came to the conclusion that I want to continue because racing, being a MotoGP rider, but especially riding my M1, is the thing that makes me feel good.”
“Having the opportunity to work with my team, with Silvano, Matteo and all my mechanics, and working with all Japanese engineers, Tsuji-san, and above all Tsuya-san, is a pleasure – I’m happy. I want to thank Yamaha – Lin Jarvis and Maio Meregalli in particular – for their trust in me, because the challenge is difficult: being competitive until I’m 40 years old!”
“I know it’s going to be difficult and it requires a lot of effort from my side and a lot of training but I’m ready, I am not lacking in motivation, that’s why I’m signing for two more years,” added the nine-time world champion.
The battle will commence this Sunday (18 March 2018) where this will be the first season ever that there are Malaysians racing in each category. The lights will go out for Moto3 at 9 pm (local time) followed by Moto2 at 10.20pm and MotoGP at midnight.
Let’s show our support for Adam Norrodin, Khairul Idham Pawi, Zulfahmi Khairuddin, and the very first Malaysian MotoGP rider racing for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad, Hafizh Syahrin!
Source: MotoGP
