MotoGP – Yamaha is the bike to beat with Rossi and Lorenzo, the motorbike market comes alive

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, riders of the Fiat Yamaha Team, yesterday, for the second time in 2009, became the protagonists of an exciting head-to-head at the end of the German Grand Prix, at the Sachsenring, the halfway point of the 2009 world championship. the eight-time world champion ended up coming out on top as it happened in Barcelona but the very small gap (yesterday Rossi won by just 99 thousandths) means that Iwata's bike is currently the bike to beat, the point of reference of the highest category. Certainly having two riders like Rossi and Lorenzo at home helps but the fact that yesterday they raced with different compounds without experiencing the slightest tire problem says a lot about the competitiveness and compactness of the 1 version M2009.

Analyzing the race we can in fact see how the Honda riders, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, were slowed down by tire problems (Dovizioso in the end also retired not only due to the wear of the front tire but also due to an electrical problem) and also Stoner in the end he slowed down due to a bad "crash" which "advised" him to take home the points for fourth place.

Without a doubt, as mentioned above, having riders of the caliber of Lorenzo and Rossi helps, the Pesaro native yesterday took his 101st victory and equaled the record of podiums held by Giacomo Agostini (159), a record that can easily be surpassed in the remaining races, as early as next week at Donington Park; However, the fact remains without a doubt that the Yamaha performs well in all conditions (see Rossi's pole in the wet) and that the Rossi/Burgess treatment (in Yamaha together since 2004) has borne fruit.

Lorenzo will soon have to make a very difficult choice, the Majorcan rider is in fact demanding more (in terms of salary) from Yamaha, thanks to an offer from Honda of 5 million dollars. The choice will be difficult because at the moment it is not easy to leave a winning bike to get on an official Honda RC212V. Let's say that Lorenzo is playing the bullish game with Yamaha but they have already made it known that he won't do anything crazy. In fact, he already has the eight-time world champion at home and therefore, albeit reluctantly, he could let Lorenzo leave. Rossi interviewed on the subject commented as follows: “Jorge's choice (Lorenzo, ed.) will certainly not be an easy one; However, I am convinced that he will be competitive whether he stays in Yamaha or goes to Honda. I also thought about what is best for me and honestly I couldn't answer myself, there are both positive and negative sides.”

Among other things, the entire paddock is waiting for Lorenzo's move, at which point a rotation of riders would be triggered which, for example, could bring Edwards back to being Rossi's wingman, Melandri to Honda Gresini, De Puniet with the Yamaha of Team Tech3 and so on. The first steps should already be taken from Donington. For example, Suzuki has given the out-out to Jorge Martinez, the Spanish manager who will go up to MotoGP with the current rider Alvaro Bautista must in fact decide whether to join the Japanese manufacturer or whether to accept to go to Ducati. Among other things, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer must also decide whether to assert the option it has on Nicky Hayden, which is not entirely a given. Returning to Lorenzo, the possible arrival in Honda would not necessarily lead Pedrosa to leave the house of the golden wing but this is also an option not to be underestimated.