MotoGP: Valentino Rossi expected to sign Petronas Yamaha deal at Jerez

Alright, we’ve been telling you for months that this move has been on the cards. And now it seems like the deal is finally done. Rossi has reached an agreement with Yamaha about his future in MotoGP. And as we suspected, he’ll be joining his pal Franco Morbidelli in the Petronas Yamaha squad.

Expected to be announced at Jerez this weekend, as the MotoGP World Championship gets underway – it’s suggested the deal will be for the 2021 season, with an option to extend the contract for a second year.

Rossi previously said he wanted to see how he was feeling after the first half of the season before making any decisions about his future, but with a much altered calendar, he’s had to make the call without spending any time racing in 2020.

And of course, Yamaha had already signed Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo to the factory team for 2021 and 2022, so the Doctor didn’t really have much choice… it was always going to be Petronas.