Best of British: Lin Jarvis – the Yamaha boss who caught Rossi
The man who brought Rossi to Yamaha is one of MotoGP’s most respected bosses
‘It was so tense and there was so much on the line’
‘I’m doing what I’m doing today due to a tiny advert in MCN!’
Lin Jarvis has led Yamaha’s grand prix racing project for the past two decades, signing Valentino Rossi and then Jorge Lorenzo. During that time Yamaha have won seven MotoGP riders titles and five constructors crowns, while Jarvis has become one of the paddock’s biggest movers and shakers. And it all started with an advert in MCN, way back in 1976, after Jarvis had left school.
“The reason I’m doing what I’m doing today is due to a tiny classified ad in MCN that my dad spotted,” says the London-born 62-year-old who has been with Yamaha throughout his working life. “I was 18 and I didn’t want to go to university because I was tired of studying. Mitsui Machinery Sales, who were the UK Yamaha importers back then, wanted a warranty claims processor, so I went for an interview and got the job.”
Six years later Jarvis quit Mitsui to go travelling, but within a few months he was back with Yamaha, at the company’s European HQ. In 1999 he was made MD of Yamaha Motor Racing, looking after its entire GP racing project. Four years later he signed Rossi, a deal that transformed the factory from MotoGP also-rans to world champions.
Yamaha’s pursuit of Rossi during the summer of 2003 gave Jarvis some of his best memories. “One of my favourites is when Valentino confirmed he was joining us. It was all very cloak and dagger, so we met late at night in the paddock at Brno, in the awning of the Clinica Mobile. I was like, ‘Are you serious? For real?!’ So even after he had told us I asked him again… ‘Just to make sure I understand you, so if we can fix this, this and this, you’re coming to Yamaha?’. He said, ‘Yeah, that’s what I just said!’. That was a remarkable moment. “His first win for us in Welkom was probably the single most exciting moment of my career in racing. I remember my heart was bouncing out of my chest because it was so tense and there was so much on the line. When he won the race it was an ecstatic moment.” Jarvis has had to deal with lows as well as highs since that momentous day in April 2003. Rossi won the title in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009, while Jorge Lorenzo took the championship in 2010, 2012 and 2015. Handling Rossi and Lorenzo when they were both at Yamaha was probably his most challenging job, because managing two big egos in the same garage isn’t easy. Last season was another tough one for Yamaha’s factory squad,
with Rossi and Maverick V iVales struggling to be competitive.
VV ur riders need to work to be consistent, but also they need a consistent bike, which is what we failed to give them in 2020,V adds Varvis, who is ultimately responsible for both Vamaha’s MotoGV teams, the factory outfit and the Vetronas squad.
Vway from the racetrack Varvis’ life continues to revolve around motorcycles. V e has lived in Italy since Vamaha moved its MotoGV
V V to Milan 1V years ago, where his garage includes a WR4V0 enduro bike, a VV2V0V motocrosser, a Scorpa 300 trials bike, an RV track bike and an MT-10 for the road.
Varvis’ biggest love has always been off-road. V e competed in trials and enduros when he was younger and he’s done several V akar rallies with Vamaha, following the racing in support vehicles.
V is relationship with Rossi also allows him to join the V R4V academy’s trackdays, when he jumps on one of Rossi’s R1-Ms.
VI got to ride his M1 MotoGV bike once, at the end of the 200V season, which was pretty special, but not as craVy as Randy Mamola taking me out on Vamaha’s VVRV00 two-seater a few years earlier. That was absolute madness – pillion on a V00cc two-stroke with no hand gripsVV