[kropotkin thinks...] - Valentino Rossi: "Ducati Was Not About Money, But About Prezi

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The debrief at the end of the Brno test was the first chance the press got to speak to Valentino Rossi after the official announcement that the Italian had signed with Ducati. So naturally, after discussing how testing had gone, the subject turned to Rossi's decision to leave Yamaha and join Ducati.

The main reason, the nine-time World Champion said, was because he felt his work at Yamaha was finished. The bike had been turned around completely, thanks to the relationship Rossi had built up with Masao Furusawa (head of Yamaha's MotoGP project). But with Furusawa about to take compulsory retirement at the end of the year, the Italian was worried about the direction of Yamaha's MotoGP project once he leaves.

That, and the outstanding relationship that he has built up with Ducati's Filippo Preziosi over the years, was enough to convince Rossi that a move to Ducati was the right thing to do. It was not about the money, Rossi was keen to emphasize. It was about his belief that he could build the same kind of working relationship with Preziosi that he had with Furusawa in the past.

Below is the full transcript of the debrief Rossi did with the English-speaking press.

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