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Time for Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess to Part Company?

Although there is no official confirmation that Valentino Rossi will leave Yamaha and join the Ducati Factory MotoGP team next year, there is already much speculation that his long-time crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, will split from Rossi and work with a younger rider, such as Casey Stoner at Honda or Ben Spies, also currently at Yamaha.

Burgess is a legend in motorcycle roadracing, having worked with a long string of successful riders, including five-time World 500cc champ Mick Doohan, whom Burgess guided forward with his technical expertise. 

That technical expertise is also desired by Honda, according to a report by Solo Moto, which indicates the big factory is attempting to lure Burgess to team up with Casey Stoner beginning next year.  Apparently, Honda thinks this would be an unbeatable combination, and the beginning of a long relationship with Stoner/Burgess (and many World titles).  Burgess, for his part, says he is happy to stay with Yamaha regardless of what Rossi decides to do next year. 

The split makes sense for a couple of reasons.  First of all, Rossi is likely to retire within a year or two, and Burgess has traditionally moved from one winning rider to another that is much younger.  Second, Ducati typically relies on Italians for technical expertise on its MotoGP team, and might not be the best fit for Burgess. 

Time will sort all of this out, of course, but now that Stoner has officially announced that he is moving to Honda, there are still a few pieces to next year’s puzzle that need to fall into place.  Expect those pieces to appear within the next few weeks.

9 Comments

  1. MikeE says:

    JB loves winning as much as VR. They’ll never split until one of them retires.
    Just my 2c’s

  2. Chris says:

    I would love to see Ben and Burgess team up. Maybe, then we will see what Ben can really do in the big league.

  3. Come on Honda break out the cheque book. Imagine a Stoner/Burgess combo! Go you little AUSSIES!

  4. Colin says:

    There was a recent interview where Jeremy said he’d hoped Rossi would stay with Yamaha because he was happy there. Also talked about possibly working with Ben, so Dirck isn’t making it up. Ben already has House, so it would be a way for him to step back a bit and be more of a mentor.

  5. agent55 says:

    Where did you guys hear Burgess was “…happy to stay with Yamaha regardless of what Rossi decides to do next year.”? I’ve seen actual quotes from JB stating, among other pro-Rossi things, “when Rossi retires, I retire.” I don’t see JB bailing on Rossi if he changes seats, there’s certainly no better rider Burgess will ever get to work with again (after all, his own career is nearing its end). If Vale goes red, I expect JB to follow suit.

  6. Denny says:

    Dirck; Really? Pay attention & stop the swizzle stick sensationalist nonsense, this isn’t a celeb rag. Burgess has stated numerous times in the past, his desire to retire and spend time at home with his family. He has said when Valentino retires, he (Burgess) retires. He has also said that he very much likes working at Yamaha, but he goes where his rider goes. How many riders has he been a crew chief for in the last 25 years? 3, not exactly a job hopper! One last thing, who says Rossi is going anywhere? I would love it, but that’s not reality. I will say a little prayer however…

  7. Bill says:

    Because Jorge’s a tool

  8. Wendy says:

    Is this a “break up the yankees” move? NOt since gowanda split up will the world be so shaken.

  9. Amarillasi Amorio says:

    Why no mention of Jorge Lorenzo?

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