Carlos Checa was a Yamaha rider in MotoGP when Valentino Rossi joined the group in 2004. Rossi’s signing was not universally accepted, and at a time when Yamaha was combating efficiency, there was little confidence within the rider’s possibilities, regardless of his outcomes with Honda.
Not solely did Rossi begin profitable instantly, however he additionally turned the champion in his first 12 months with Yamaha. Twenty years later, Checa recalled Rossi’s arrival to DAZN:
– We didn’t imagine Valentino might obtain this with Yamaha, and he did. For me, it was a lesson, as a result of if you discover the bounds with the bike, I feel we felt asleep a bit, however then Valentino arrived along with his vitality, at his finest second.
The previous Spanish rider additionally believes Rossi noticed his transfer to Yamaha as a method to show his value exterior Honda: ‘I feel it was additionally a little bit of revenge. «You suppose you win as a result of I’ve a Honda, now you’ll see». Yamaha labored very arduous on this. It’s true that Yamaha made a radical change and on the identical time, it was Valentino’s signing’.