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Yamaha will adding a new chapter to its history in 2025. First, with the arrival of Marmorini, then the second Pramac team from this year, the direction they've taken suggests a strong and decisive turn towards the future for the motorcycle manufacturer. In the upcoming season, we'll see as many as four M1s on the track, but the technical department won't be the only one renewed. As was already announced, Lin Jarvis will, in fact, be handing over the baton and his role as team managing director for Yamaha Racing to Paolo Pavesio. He'll, however, be staying on as senior advisor. A change that marks a divide in the life of the British manager. An interview with our Greek colleague, Dimitris Diatsidis for MotoGP World, traces his long career at Yamaha, from his successes in the era of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, to his more recent past, amid difficult moments and personal aspirations.
"I spent my whole career with Yamaha," Lin Jarvis said. "First, in the UK, then I left because I wanted to go to Europe, and I came to Yamaha Europe in 1983. I worked in many different roles there, including the press launch of new models around the world, corporate communications, marketing, sales, many different roles. But the racing side also always followed me and, at that time, I was in charge of the Motocross Grand Prix, Paris-Dakar, Superbike and activities, so I was in charge of European racing activities. But, when I'd go to a Grand Prix, I was a guest. In 1998, Yamaha decided to make a change. They wanted to go back to owning an official MotoGP team. At that time, it was the 500 cc. They asked me if I would've liked to do that job, and I said, 'Why not'. So, there was a logic to it. I had a good background but, then, when I got into the game, it was a completely different situation, the next chapter of my life."
The high point of the work of those years must be related to that story in Valentino Rossi's autobiography, when you both hid under tables at the mobile clinic in Brno in 2003 after convincing him to work together.
"Yes, 2003 was a strange year, really strange, because we hadn't won a single GP that season. During that year, we had long meetings with management, and we said we had to step up or we had to leave. That was the business logic. The only way to progress at that time was to get back to winning. To do that, we first had to improve the bike and then change the rider. At the time, Valentino was dominating, Honda was dominating. So we were able to convince management to be brave and make that change. But, of course, convincing Valentino Rossi to switch from Honda, which was always winning, to Yamaha at that time, was a shock. It was very difficult ..."
"At that time, Davide Brivio was the team manager of the MotoGP project," Jarvis continued. "He had a good relationship with Vale, and it was an incredible year, with many strange encounters. The one in Brno was just one of many strange meetings and, in the end, the Brno meeting was the highlight because, in that meeting, we said, 'Okay, but let's be clear, if we do this and this, will you come?' and he said, 'Yes, yes, I'll come', so it was as if he was really coming. 'Did he really say that?' we asked ourselves. After he said that, we had to hide under the table because more people were coming. That was the moment when he said yes: 'If you fix this, I'll come.' And the rest is history ...."
Fast forward a few years, and Jorge Lorenzo arrived. He confessed to me at the time that he had chosen Jorge Lorenzo for the team because he thought that Valentino Rossi's successor should be at least as smart. Was that the main reason he signed with him for Yamaha?
"It was something a bit unexpected. We won with Vale in 2004. Then we won again in 2005, the first two years. But, after 2005, Valentino was seriously contemplating going to the Formula 1. So it was about rediscovering the MotoGP for Yamaha. After two years of triumphs, what would've happened if he had left? If he had left us. We had to have the next rider who could win. We had to get him and grow with him. Actually, Jorge started riding for us in 2008, but we had a contract with him since 2006! We had a contract with him to be ready if and when Valentino went to Formula 1 and to have the next champion, because we saw that Lorenzo was a killer."
You've also taken risks in your career, such as the decision to accept the offer from the Petronas team and sign Quartararo on.
"I'd say there were two other risky decisions before that. When Jorge arrived. In 2008, he finished third then, in 2009, he finished second and, in 2010, he won the title. This was a problem to accept for Valentino, who left our bike to switch to Ducati. In 2011 and 2012, he rode on the Ducati, and that was the first big change. In 2011 and 2012 , however, Valentino wasn't successful with Ducati, so he came back to us in 2013. But the roles had now reversed. We took Valentino back when Jorge was king. That was another bold move and, eventually, Jorge decided to leave. So now we're at 2017, when Jorge left, but bringing Fabio to the Petronas team was a decision made primarily by the Petronas team at the time. A brave move, yes, but they had nothing to lose. He beat Morbidelli in his first year, so we negotiated with him to bring him to the official team. With his arrival in the factory team, we had to move Valentino again, because he was at the end of his career. This was a second-minute problem, but I think the decision was justified in the end because, once Fabio got into the factory team, he made bank and was number one in his first year. Those were interesting times, with delicate balances, parallel presences, and subtle decisions to be made."
The last few years, on the other hand, have been more difficult for Yamaha. What do you think?
"You're right. I'd say that, since we won the last championship in 2021, even I personally didn't think we'd struggle so much in the past few years. I was hoping that, during my career, which I knew would come to an end sooner or later, I'd win at least two more times with Yamaha thanks to Fabio. That was my dream, to try to get to ten titles. Unfortunately, in mid 2022, we quickly realized that Ducati was growing and the speed of development and performance was too fast for us. So, we were in trouble as early as 2022. Then, in 2023, we partnered with Marmorini, who would help us, especially in the engine area. From that moment on, we started to rebuild, because we were seeing Ducati's, but also that of the other European ones, like KTM and Aprilia, which were growing rapidly. We kept going forward like that. Honda, on the other hand, remained unchanged. So, to close that gap, we had to invest a lot. We started again in 2023 and, that year, we made a lot of changes. I'm really happy to be able to leave at the end of this year with my current role. If I had left at the end of last year, I would've felt that I hadn't even remotely completed the job. Before, there was still no foundation for the future, but we've done a lot more this year."
The British manager then reviewed the major changes taking place at Yamaha.
"First, we got Max Bartolini from Ducati. A very important new member. We changed our internal organization, the way we work. We took the number two from Ducati for aerodynamics, to start with aerodynamics. Now we're committed to the V4 project. We're making a lot of changes. Soon, we'll start working with the Pramac team, which will allow us to have two more bikes. My task this year has been to make some important decisions, to invest and lay down the foundation, so that when I leave the company at the end of the year, I'll leave it with a foundation for the future that will be solid, with the hope that the recovery can continue in the next two years."
