Rossi and crew chief rubbish Ducati rumours

With one hand now firmly on the 2009 MotoGP title, Valentino Rossi strenuously denied his other hand was poised to sign a mega money deal to join Ducati in Phillip Island.

He told MCN: “There are a lot of rumours in Italy that I will race for Ducati next year, but that is impossible because I already have a contract with Yamaha and I want to stay with them for next year. For the future I will decide by June if I continue and with which bike.”

Rossi’s crew chief Jerry Burgess described suggestions that he’d joined the Italian star in shock negotiations with Ducati bosses recently as ‘laughable’.

Burgess said the spreading of gossip about Rossi¹s future was harmless but ludicrous. “Lets break it down to what it is. It’s a bunch of dickhead Italian journalists trying to out-scandal each other,” he said.

“Apparently I was seen in a car with Uccio and it had blacked out windows at the back, so the assumption was made that Valentino was in the back. But to be in Bologna the week when I was at home in Australia is laughable. I’ve got my plane ticket to prove it.”