Jorge Lorenzo has finally made up his mind, and has signed up with the Fiat Yamaha team for next season’s MotoGP.
The 22 year old Spanish rider has extended his contract to the winning team for another year, but beyond this time his actions are anyone’s guess.
His decision to stay with Yamaha was greeted with relief from many of the other GP riders, whose own position was shrouded in uncertainty until Lorenzo commited himself. Before the announcement, James Toseland, riding for Tech 3 Yamaha, said,
‘We’re all waiting for Lorenzo to decide if he’s going to stay, as that will decide what seats are up for grabs’
Bartering for a pay rise, Lorenzo was offered a 6.5m Euros a year from Ducati, but decided to stay loyal to Yamaha in return for a 100% increase on his wage from 2m to 4m Euros. Quite a wage rise.
Still, Lorenzo’s one year extension leaves doubts as to whether he is entirely happy, seeing as his co-member Valentino Rossi rakes in a rather large 14m Euros a year. But time will tell, the only certainty right now is that we can all look forward to another year of team rivalry on the GP circuit!