Er endnu ikke på plads men spekulationer er der ræddi-ræddi mange af i
øjeblikket,for interesserede her 2 artikler sakset fra Crashnet,husk
at læse "mellem linierne"
:
Sete waiting for Rossi to sign.
Sete Gibernau may be Valentino Rossi's nearest championship rival, but
he's now some 51 points behind the Italian and needs his opponent to
suffer at least two DNFs in the last four races if he's to stand a
chance of taking his first world crown.
In a high-risk, high-stakes sport like MotoGP, nothing can be taken
for granted, but if Rossi wins on Sunday – with Sete fifteenth or
lower – the title will be decide early in the Repsol rider's favour.
However, speaking earlier today in Japan, Gibernau was more concerned
with his rival's plans for next season: Rossi is yet to re-sign with
Honda and, although an announcement is predicted some time this
weekend, the instability is even worrying the Catalan.
"Hopefully Valentino can sort something out soon, because really my
plans and those of the other riders depend on what he decides," said
Sete, who earlier this week announced a new deal with his main
sponsors. "I have signed a two-year contract with Telefonica Movistar,
and now I need to know what the situation with Honda is. Hopefully we
will hear something this weekend."
Gibernau's words are believed to refer to the type of support he'll
get from HRC next year – if Rossi leaves, the #15 is tipped to take
his place as their top rider, with the full might of Honda behind him.
However, should Rossi stay, the reigning world champion has already
hinted that he wants better machinery than the other Honda riders –
given his status and input into the RCV project – which would put the
likes of Gibernau and Max Biaggi at a disadvantage.
That said, it is expected that the six 2004 Hondas will not be split
between 'factory' and 'customer' as they have been this year, but
instead – should Rossi stay – the factory Repsol team would test and
develop new parts (meaning they'll have them first), but all six bikes
will be basically of the same specification.
"We are working well in the team and Honda has helped us, but I can
only control what we have in-house," said Gibernau. "I just hope we
are in as good shape in Motegi as we were in Rio."
Artikel 2)
Rossi closing on title, 2004 contract?
After a mid-season dip, Valentino Rossi now has everything going his
way: He's won the last three GP's back to back, to increase his lead
in the championship to a comfortable 51 points; the largest gap he's
enjoyed all season... the only 'downside' is that he hasn't got a job
for next season.
That's not to say he won't have one – as the ultimate two-wheeled
racer he will definitely be on the grid in 2004, but on which bike –
and which team – has yet to decided, and there's only a month left of
the 2003 season.
It was well known that Rossi's contract was up at the end of this
year, but it generated little news since it was taken for granted that
he'd simply renew with Honda, adding a few more zeros to his pay
cheque in the process. It's probably fair to say that Vale thought the
same way – in the early part of the season he was talking of 'getting
the contract talks out of the way as soon as possible' so he could
concentrate on riding.
It should have been easy: Rossi needs Honda, Honda needs Rossi – but
then things got much more complicated when Ducati emerged as a real
force (giving Rossi an alterative team to consider), while at the same
time Sete Gibernau began beating the #46 fair and square (giving Honda
an alternative rider). Throw into the equation Rossi's massive – and
some would say justified – pay demands and an alleged one year
contract and things suddenly look much more complicated.
Thus, the contract talks got further and further drawn out, and
appeared to reach a stalemate on several occasions, with both side
'digging-in' – a theory which gathered momentum when no announcement
was given at the Portuguese GP, despite top Honda bosses flying in for
what turned out to be 'just' a technical presentation.
Rossi is rumoured to be seriously considering accepting Marlboro money
for a Ducati ride, in an all-Italian superteam with Loris Capirossi
(Troy Bayliss would join Hodgson at D'Antin), while Honda is said to
have Gibernau and Max Biaggi lined-up to beat the Italian, should he
move, on an even quicker 2004 spec RCV.
The latest, and most debateable, whisper is of a Yamaha ride, but
insiders believe this could simply be a bargaining tool – most can
understand why Rossi would want to ride for Ducati, but moving from
Honda to Yamaha makes less sense. The M1 has rarely been a podium
contender this year, and doesn't even have the exotic engineering
appeal of Honda's V5 engine, being a conventional in-line
four-cylinder.
But rumour and intrigue aside, Motegi is a crucial weekend for the
24-year-old superstar; he could leave with a Honda contract and the
2003 world title, one or the other, or neither. Should he fly out of
Japan without deciding his future, it could well signal the end of his
Honda career. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, there's a Pacific Grand Prix to win: "For me the end of the
season is coming good. I feel very focused at the moment to get the
best result in the last four hard races and keep the concentration for
the championship. I feel now we really understand the bike and we hope
for more success," said Rossi.
Victory on Sunday, at the circuit built by Honda to celebrate their
50th anniversary, would certainly do his contract negotiations no harm
- whatever direction he's thinking of heading in.
--
-Michael
Aprilia RS250-dele plus div. andre dele til salg på:
http://62.79.120.117/
(opdateret med nye dele:24-06-2003)