In statements made on the MotoGP website, five-time World champion Mick Doohan indicates his belief that Yamaha will likely sign Rossi for 2004. Doohan should have a fair bit of knowledge on the subject, given his longstanding relationship with Rossi’s employer, Honda. In addition to winning all those Honda championships, Doohan is a fairly senior HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) manager, and closely involved with Rossi’s MotoGP team.
It is also interesting that we are now several weeks past Honda’s supposed drop-dead date for Rossi to accept the final Honda proposal. This is all speculation, of course, but if Honda has stuck to its guns, Rossi must be deep in negotiations with a rival, most likely Yamaha or Ducati.
