English
Maverick Vinales’ crew chief Ramon Forcada says the Yamaha MotoGP team are not obsessed by teammate Valentino Rossi winning a 10th world championship. Having won seven premier class titles in addition to one apiece in the 125cc and 250cc categories, Rossi is just one crown away from his 10th.
The Italian has finished runner-up in the last three seasons, narrowly losing out to Jorge Lorenzo in a controversial 2015 campaign, and now has a new teammate to contend with in 2017. Also Read: Sportspersons with most Laureus World Sports Awards: Find it out here
However, Forcada believes that even though Rossi has a huge worldwide following, Yamaha does not have a favourite and treats both their riders i.e. Rossi and Vinales, equally. Forcada was the crew chief for Lorenzo at Yamaha for the past nine years. For this season, Lorenzo signed with Ducati but Forcada stayed at Yamaha to take the role of crew chief for the young gun Maverick Vinales.
“The Japanese are very phlegmatic,” Forcada told the Motorsport website. “They want to win, their number one enemy is Honda, their great rival.
“This is the main objective, and with which rider matters very little.
“Surely the marketing department is interested in this detail, but I can assure you the project leader is only interested in winning, whether it’s with [Tech 3 riders] Folger, Zarco, Valentino or Maverick.
“They want a Yamaha rider to win and Rossi’s 10th title is not an obsession for them.”
Forcada also admitted that the Yamaha squad, which is based in Lesmo, Italy would like to see Rossi claiming the tenth title this year. He added, “Within the team, which is run by Italians, it’s a different story.”
“Within the team, which is run by Italians, it’s a different story,” he said. “Surely if Valentino won a 10th title it would be important for the championship and the sport.
“It would be a huge achievement, coming so many years after his last title [in 2009], and it would have a big media impact for MotoGP. But as for the technical staff [in Japan], they have no preference.
“The enemy is Honda and the objective is to win the championship – as well as the riders’, the constructors’, which we hardly talk about.”
Qatar GP is the first face of MotoGP 2017 to be held at the Losail International Circuit on March 26.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Sports News on India.com.
