Thanasis Houdras writes

It's a little risky to make any announcements on the subject of "where is Rossi going anyway". However, the information is now sufficient to say it out loud. Rossi will ride the Yamaha 2013.

The Italian star is leaving Ducati for Yamaha and this will happen at the end of this season. The official announcement from Yamaha is expected on the morning of August 15, national holiday in Italy.

Beyond "Virgin's Day", in Italy it is also a national holiday of Ferragosto which also symbolizes the end of the period of "hard work in the fields". Terrible symbolism that is certainly part of Rossi's communication game.

The day after the announcement is also the opening day of the 11th round of the MotoGP world championship at the Indianapolis circuit. And another symbolism here as the Indianapolis track is the oldest on planet Earth, dates from 1909 and there the first speed race took place. He had been lying idle and snarling, until the 2008 it was renewed from the ground up and again experienced moments of greatness and glory.

According to the Italian press the decision was made a few days after the race at Laguna Seca which was nothing more than a repeat of Rossi's dismal performances so far.

Slow in testing, 106th in qualifying and 6-7th in the race. Only this time he didn't even finish as he crashed on lap 30 when he lost the front brake before the famous Corkscrew. Ducati's well-known front blur problem that was never fixed.

Despite efforts on Ducati's part that brought down the heavy artillery, Rossi wasn't convinced that anything would change. From the general leader of the company, managing director, Gabriele Del Torchio to the Audi equivalent, they shot "hares and petrels" but to no avail.

However, the sincere effort made by the Ducati management (Audi) reached the limits of despair. Filippo Preziosi himself went so far as to give a blank check to Masao Furusawa, the former head of the Yamaha M1 MotoGP development project, to go to Ducati to help improve the bike.

The proposal fell on deaf ears when Furusawa refused, embracing Japanese culture and the way Japanese people deal with such matters. He felt that such a move might be perceived as treason and apparently thought that he wouldn't want to end up doing hara-kiri…

Loyalty to the company is a primary element in Japanese life, but from’ that it seems and the Ducati people are not backing down. The proof is the words Preziosi allegedly said, responsible for the development of Ducati MotoGP, to Akira Nishimura, Japanese journalist: “I'm interested in making our bike better, even if it means losing my place".

The arrival of Furusawa was possibly the only reason Rossi would reconsider his stay at Ducati. But knowing this Furusawa, he also knew that if he didn't go to Ducati himself, it was extremely possible that Rossi would come to Yamaha! As it happened in the end.

All Rossi wanted was a fighting bike. In 33 his age can no longer afford to wait, if he wants to fight for podium places and wins again.

More from’ but everything interested him to start enjoying the games again so that he could find a reason to intensify his preparation and training.

Elements necessary with today's tough and against 10 years younger competition… Yamaha is already completely competitive, today. A characteristic from which the Ducati is noticeably far away, today…

Source : newsbeast.gr