Yamaha boss Jarvis admits Pedrosa deal was ‘at advanced stages’

Yamaha MotoGP boss Lin Jarvis has admitted that they were at an advanced stage of negotiation with Honda rider Dani Pedrosa for the 2017 season, as they sought to tempt him away after a career at Honda.

Pedrosa eventually announced his intentions to remain as part of the Repsol Honda squad for another two years – but Jarvis confirmed to MCN at Mugello that there was substance to the rumours that the Spaniard would be joining Valentino Rossi next year.

However, he also squashed rumours that an agreement had in fact been signed with Pedrosa that would see him replace Jorge Lorenzo only if Maverick Viñales did not decide to sign for the Japanese firm – a move the Suzuki rider eventually did make.

“We were in advanced discussions with Dani, and clearly we and he both understood the scenario. He was the other rider that we were definitely considering if Maverick was unable to join us, but we had not signed any sort of pre-agreement already.”