Burgess hints he will stay at Yamaha
Valentino Rossi's crew chief Jeremy Burgess says he is leaning towards staying at Yamaha whatever the world champion decides to do in 2011, with Rossi now expected to be announced as a Ducati rider within the next month
Burgess followed Rossi from Honda to Yamaha when he made the other major team switch of his career, and there had been speculation that Ducati wanted the highly-respected engineer to come as part of the package with Rossi.
But Burgess said his preference was to remain at Yamaha - regardless of Rossi.
"I've worked so much in this team and I'm happy to stay here," Burgess told Gazzetta dello Sport. "To win more races Yamaha is what I would like to carry on doing for the years to come.
"I've always said that the moment Valentino decides to retire, that could be the right opportunity for me to quit. Should he choose something else, there's no guarantee I will go with him."
When asked if the prospect of ending his long relationship with Rossi would 'difficult', Burgess replied: "I imagine it is. But Valentino has always said he would like to end his career here in Yamaha..."
Burgess is confident that Rossi would enjoy plenty of success without him were they to separate.
"There are so many people in a team that a single one is not important," he said. "A team like ours can't be built in just one year, we've done an excellent job all together.
"There are many important people here. Should Valentino decide to leave in order to start a new career, it wouldn't be so important to lose one person.
"I've worked with my team for so many years, since Mick Doohan's times at Honda. If I was to die tomorrow, they would carry on working as usual. I'm just an old totem, or something like that."
Steiner: Haas F1 2022 rollercoaster better than "just downs" of 2021
Gunther Steiner believes Haas’s “rollercoaster” 2022 Formula 1 campaign took “a lot of energy” out of the team, but felt grateful for the highs after “just downs” the previous year.
How Wehrlein's Diriyah double reveals Formula E's form book shake-up
After Porsche-powered drivers locked out the top two positions to open Formula E's new Gen3 era in Mexico, the order was reversed in Diriyah. Ex-Formula 1 driver Pascal Wehrlein's factory car headed Jake Dennis's customer Andretti machine in both races under the Riyadh lights in a display that leaves little doubt as to which package currently has the edge
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
LMP2 winner Allen 'wasn't breathing' in Daytona 24 photo finish
Proton Competition driver James Allen says he wasn't breathing when he drafted past Ben Hanley's Crowdstrike Racing by APR car to steal LMP2 victory in the Daytona 24 Hours.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.