Not everyone in the paddock was on vacation in July. Carlo Pernat was in his hometown, Genoa, continuing to work and promoting his book, "Belìn, che paddock", and, being an old sea dog in the world championship, he was interpreting the winds that blew. With the bikes at a standstill, there were many rumors about the stars of the MotoGP "chasing" each other through the summer heat. Some with a kernel of truth, while others were only mermaid songs.

As always, one who was caught up in the gossip under the beach umbrella was Valentino Rossi, and Pernat decided to start with him, taking stock of the situation before he got back into the game in Brno.

"I heard lots of talk these days, and some surprised me," Carlo confessed. "For example, I didn't expect certain statements from Jarvis. It's a good thing that Yamaha is preparing for Valentino's retirement, sooner or later it'll happen, but Rossi is still a symbol for Yamaha, and certain things that were said didn't seem nice to me. Also because I see Valentino in Yamaha even after his retirement, with a managerial role."

He doesn't want to even think about the retirement "rumors"

"That's ludicrous," he cut it short. "Valentino trains a lot, every day. He wants to race and, a few months ago, he got on the podium. He couldn't have changed that much in such a short period of time."

"Valentino will continue to race and will soon be on the podium."

But Pernat sees something that's not working well in the pit-box.

"I don't think he has a good feeling, as the British would say, with his team," is his opinion. "I'm not talking about the technicians themselves, but about his technical manager, Galbusera. Maybe he's not the right guy for him right now, and I'm not talking about skills but about relationships. After all, his bike is always the one that's not working as well as the other Yamahas. Despite everything, Rossi will continue to race, even in 2020."

And, according to Pernat, he'll be competitive in doing so.

"Valentino is prepared and ready to go. He'll react," Pernat said reassuringly."It's a difficult moment, but he'll soon get over it, and I expect him to start aiming for the podium soon. In fact, I'm betting on it."

The manager hopes that the same will happen with Lorenzo

"He's also going through a complicated moment. A way out could have been a return to Ducati, but his injury closed this door on him," he explained. "orge went on vacation with so many thoughts in his head, including retirement. That's understandable, having broken two vertebrae. Now, he's back to training hard and we're all rooting for him."

"The real dream team was Lorenzo-Dovizioso, not Lorenzo-Marquez"

Many are also rooting for Ducati, which is abounding to the title of eternal second in recent seasons.

"There are problems," revealed Carlo. "Dall'Igna knows that he has had a winning bike in recent years, but he hasn't won. It wasn't Dovizioso's fault, but Marquez's. He wanted Lorenzo, but he'll be with the Dovizioso-Petrucci duo next year, which may not be the best. Right now, I believe Yamaha has that the real anti-Marquez: it could be Quartararo, or even Vinales. I think Ducati made the right move by taking Jorge, but they were wrong in letting him go. Looking at the situation now, perhaps the real dream team was the Dovizioso-Lorenzo and not the Marquez-Lorenzo one."

Pernat thinks Ducati should be very careful and not let Dall'Igna get stolen away.

"If I were KTM, I would have sought out Gigi, and I would have said two words to him," he said. "I don't think he'll leave Borgo Panigale, but I think he thought about it when in Austria."

Maybe like Ducati is doing with Marquez for 2021.

"Everyone will be chasing after Marc ," said Carlo. "But I hardly think Honda will let him go, and he can use his brother Alex as bait. Puig has to try to keep him, maybe putting Alex by his side. Whatever happens, it will take at least 15 million Euros to get Marquez, and we'll have to see if Audi will open its wallet."

"Aprilia? Long live the revolution"

Lastly, about Aprilia. Romano Albesiano has promised a revolution for 2020.

"It seems like their on the right track," said the manager from Genova, approvingly. "We need a technical revolution and also a change in personnel, and the foundation on which to build this will be the new bike. Aprilia, with it's history, can't go on like this. Let's give them a year, then we'll be able to judge."