I think Burgess explained it best when he said it's like a golfer changing his caddy when he feels stuck in a rut. Tiger Woods got rid of Steve Williams and went on to win 5 tournaments this year including one major (The Players). I never understood the reasoning why a racer is supposed to get slower with age. If anything, they should get faster since they have more experience riding. Especially, if they stay relatively healthy like Rossi is today. I can understand getting slower because they are burnt out and are simply riding for a pay check. Rock stars eventually grow to hate touring all the time and banging hot groupies. Mick Doohan was in his 30's when he retired. He probably could have won another championship at least, but felt like chillin at home with the wife and kids instead. Why did Stoner retire? It was simply because he didn't want to race anymore. I don't think Rossi wants to retire end of next year. Rossi wants to race. I think he will want to race until the day he dies. He will retire if he believes he is slower, not because he wants to go home and chill out with friends and family. Shaking up the garage just might be enough to give him a different perspective so he can find that 10th of a second to make a difference.