David Vuillemin update
David Vuillemin, who recently left the BooKoo team in a mutually-agreed upon split, made the drive from Texas to southern California this week to ride, network and hopefully find a deal for the summer to race the outdoor nationals.
He is currently practicing on Motoworld Yamahas, and he may even end up in the blue factory semi by Hangtown, depending on how negotiations go and what happens with Chad Reed.
Vuillemin has maintained a good relationship with the factory Yamaha team, and it may come in handy in the next couple of weeks. Nothing is signed as of this writing (late Tuesday) and he is still talking to another brand about the summer.
Due to the terms of his release from his contract with Holigan Racing, Vuillemin can't speak publicly about what happened with that team and why it ended. It's no secret he has taken a bit of a beating online about it, and he's usually pretty active on line - but not this time. Instead, he has to let his riding do the talking.
So will he be in the Yamaha factory semi on May 20 when the outdoor nationals start? A lot depends on what happens with Reed, who may or may not miss some or part of the summer season due to his shoulder. So far this is still in the rumor stage and no decision has been made in the Reed camp.
If Vuillemin doesn't end up in the factory semi and still sticks with Yamaha, he will get bikes and parts and pit in one of the other Yamaha semis.
And for those of you that read the message boards and saw the meltdown between Vuillemin and Motoworld Racing's Paul Lindsey last year, it's over. They talked on the phone yesterday and it's settled.