July 20, 2008 - Yamaha Motor
Co., Ltd has announced that it has signed a new two-year
agreement with Valentino Rossi and a one-year contract with
Colin Edwards.
The deal with Edwards came as a
bit of a surprise; rumors had it that Edwards was shopping
for a new team, but his excellent results so far this year
with the Tech 3 Yamaha Team helped convince them to continue
the relationship.
Seven-time world champion Rossi
will continue to race with the Yamaha Factory Racing Team
for the 2009 and 2010 MotoGP World Championships.
The 29-year-old Italian joined
Yamaha in 2004 and since then he has won two world
championships, 32 races and taken 20 pole positions for the
Japanese factory. He is currently leading the 2008
rider championship, having taken three wins and a further
five podiums in the first ten races this year. Rossi will
continue to race alongside Spanish youngster Jorge Lorenzo
in 2009.
Rossi and Masao Furusawa,
Executive Officer, Engineering Operations of Yamaha Motor
Co., Ltd, signed the contract at the Laguna Seca circuit
during the U.S. MotoGP race weekend and made the public
announcement at Yamaha US’s traditional Laguna Seca party at
the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Saturday, July 19.
Yamaha Motor Racing Managing
Director Lin Jarvis commented, “We are obviously delighted
to have secured Valentino for a further two years. I
think this news will be very welcome for MotoGP fans and for
Yamaha fans around the world.
Valentino is an icon in this
sport and he is on top form right now as he challenges to
win his eighth world championship and his third title
together with Yamaha. This signing confirms Yamaha’s
four-rider line-up for 2009 so now we can concentrate our
full efforts on bike development and team organization to
make sure that we are in the best possible shape for next
year.
Rossi went on to win the race in
a very closely matched contest with Casey Stoner, riding for
Ducati.
Valentino Rossi added, "After so
many years spent in racing, fortunately with so many
victories, I needed a special motivation to take the
decision to sign for two more years. The best place to
find this motivation is Yamaha, since I have a great
relationship with Yamaha's directors, which comes from a
mutual trust and loyalty.
In our team there is a special
atmosphere and with this new deal I can continue to work
with my crew, where I am part of the project and part of the
development of my M1. I had other opportunities but
due to Yamaha's efforts to give me the best bike in the best
environment, I have decided to stay with Yamaha for two more
years. This contract means that Yamaha is the
manufacturer I will have spent most of my career with. This
means more than a thousand words"
Edwards Signs With Tech 3 for
2009
Yamaha also announced that it has signed a new one-year deal
with current Tech 3 Yamaha team rider Colin Edwards.
Edwards will continue to race with the Tech 3 Team alongside
Briton James Toseland in 2009.
The Texas Tornado has agreed the
new one-year contract for the 2009 MotoGP World Championship
after enjoying the best spell of his premier class career
with Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 Yamaha squad.
The
34-year-old has already scored two podium finishes, four top
five finishes and one pole position in 2008.
He has
been on the front row a further four times and is currently
challenging for a top four position in the overall world
championship standings.
Next year will be Edwards’ fifth
season with Yamaha in MotoGP, during which time he has been
one of the most consistent performers in the championship,
scoring points in all but ten of his 94 MotoGP races.
Eight out of ten of Edwards’ MotoGP career podium finishes
have been with Yamaha.
Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of
Yamaha Motor Racing commented “We are very happy to
have been able to secure Colin as a Yamaha rider for 2009.
We have been working to improve the quality of the total
Yamaha package in the MotoGP class and in 2008 we have
achieved the best combined results to date for many years.
This comes down to the fact that
in the Yamaha Factory Team and the Tech 3 Yamaha Team we
currently have two excellent squads, with first-class
technical partners, a great bike and four top class riders.
Colin’s contribution to the
improvement of results in the Tech 3 Team has been very
important for the team and for the overall factory results.
Colin has also played a very important role in the
pre-season bike development for 2008 and we are very happy
to have retained his skills and experience for the 2009
campaign.
I hope Colin can celebrate this
new contract this weekend with a top result here in front of
his home fans at Laguna Seca!”
