Where did most of the blame go for Jeremy McGrath's poor performance in the 1997 AMA Supercross series: his riding skill or his Suzuki RM250? You probably figured this one out . . . his Suzuki took the lions share of the blame, because his riding skill was proven before he left Honda at the end of the 1996 season.
By all accounts, Yamaha is trying hard to take Valentino Rossi away from Honda for the 2004 MotoGP season. If successful, Yamaha will have the best roadracer in the world aboard its factory MotoGP machine next year. A double-edged sword, for sure.
Maybe it goes something like this. If the best rider doesn't win on your bike, it's your bike's fault. If he does win, the rider, not the bike gets most of the credit. Any way you look at it, if Yamaha lands Rossi, Yamaha better win next year.
