MotoGP: Yamaha happy with split factory garage

Yamaha bosses reckon the running of its split factory MotoGP team has gone smoothly, and both Bridgestone and Michelin management are also satisfied with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo operating out of separate garages.

When Rossi made his controversial move from Michelin to Bridgestone at the end of a torrid 2007 campaign, Yamaha was forced to put a dividing wall in its factory garage to protect intellectual property being leaked to rival tyre brands.

And after Lorenzo and Rossi both scored one victory and two other podiums in the first four races of the campaign, Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis has spoken of delight at how the transition has been trouble-free.

“The split garage was a very clear request from Bridgestone and from Michelin. Normally a tyre manufacturer aligns itself with a manufacturer or a team.

“If you then have your competition in the same pit box it is not such an easy situation, so it was clear from the beginning of the discussions that this would be a mandatory fact that we would have to split the garage.

“We did that and it is been without any problems at all so far,” Jarvis told MCN.

Asked if the relationship with Michelin had in anyway been soured after Rossi’s defection to Bridgestone, Jarvis added: “Our relationship with Michelin is good. Yamaha hasn’t changed its position.

“Yamaha is open and willing to work with any quality technical partner and we still have three good Yamaha riders on Michelin tyres, so this shows that Yamaha retains it confidence in Michelin.

“Valentino needed and wanted to change and Yamaha supported that decision and we work with Bridgestone as a result.

“I think Michelin respect Yamaha’s integrity and for me the relationship with Michelin is the same as before.”