Lorenzo tells Rossi: You won’t decide your teammate
Added on Monday, December 14th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Lorenzo tells Rossi: You won’t decide your teammate
Jorge Lorenzo has warned teammate Valentino Rossi that he will not be the one who decides Yamaha’s rider line-up in 2011.
The Spaniard, who signed a one-year contract at the end of the season just past, has claimed that the world champion should not try and influence who should be his teammate in 2011, with both FIAT Yamaha riders out of contract at the end of the new season.
Lorenzo was involved in lengthy contract negotiations this season, with talks of potential big-money switches to either Honda, backed by Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, or Ducati dominating much of the season before the 22-year-old resigned with Yamaha.
That decision reportedly infuriated Rossi, who was unhappy at having his main title rival as a teammate next season and in a number of interviews, most notably with BBC Sport in Valencia, Rossi indicated that he would be prepared to leave Yamaha if Lorenzo was signed again for 2011, with a move to Ducati thought to be on his mind.
But Lorenzo has called on his teammate to stop attempting to influence the decision makers at Yamaha, telling Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Valentino shouldn’t decide the riders for 2011. It’s Yamaha’s choice, we are just employees.
