Valentino Rossi had two dark episodes in his career: an injury in Mugello, the first serious breakdown in his career, which put an end to the pursuit of the title in 2010; as well as an emotional transition to Ducati Factory for 2011-12. Valentino did not have the most pleasant impressions of Ducati Desmosedici. However, now he owns his own team in MotoGP, which rides Ducati! Director of VR46 Racing – Alessio Salucci is sure that Rossi should certainly try Desmo again.
Alessio or “Uccio” has been Valentino Rossi’s right-hand man since the Italian entered the Moto Grand Prix in 1996. At first, Uccio just helped Valentino as a childhood friend, and then became his personal assistant. Over time, this developed into a trust-based joint business – VR46 Racing, where Uccio now holds the main role of director of the entire project (school, Academy, racing team, and mentoring system). Valentino, as the owner of VR46, does not get into business, if only with advice on the case. Rossi went into motorsport with his head, and even more into family affairs. But he didn’t leave VR46! Of course, he keeps his finger on the pulse.
At the Red Bull Ring, after another successful weekend for Luca Marini, Uccio made it clear that the new Desmosedici is damn good! The GP22 that Marini rides is in no way comparable to the “draft” that Valentino “sketched” in the middle of 2011.
If you remember, it was at the request of Rossi that Ducati Corse decided to conduct an experiment and created an alternative GP11.5 chassis built on an aluminum frame instead of the unique Ducati GP10 carbon monocoque. Rossi tried to bring him to mind in 2012, but still made a hasty escape – back to Yamaha. But it was in 2011 that Valentino Rossi “fertilized” the Ducati project, and changed it to its foundation by his presence and authority alone…
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“If he wants to test them [the team’s motorcycles], he has every right to do so: after all, these are his motorcycles! Uccio said in an interview with GPone. – For me, as the director of the team, there is no problem for him to test them. Moreover, I would insist on it. In addition, a rider of Valentino’s level will not just ride like that – three circles, and “everything is OK, goodbye.” It is necessary to organize a special session for him, where you can try everything. We know it’s not easy. But I hope that if he wants, we will definitely arrange it.”
“I would really like him to try them, compare his feelings with the Yamaha and the Ducati that he once drove. These are brand-new motorcycles. But these are HIS motorcycles! And I, as the director of the team, am interested in hearing his feedback.”
On the other hand, I closely follow Vale and how he works at WRT, how much he is focused on the details of his work in motorsport, and how he communicates with engineers from the four-wheeled world. Perhaps he has already completely “switched” to this new world, and it is better to leave him alone.”
“When he decided to take up auto racing, he didn’t just go there for a ride. No, not a couple of laps on Sundays. He chose a very technically and physically difficult championship. And he trained every day to match the level. He drives on the map almost every day, you know?”
“For him, it’s as difficult and interesting as in MotoGP. But I won’t push my idea too hard. We are like brothers, he will understand me, even if I just hint. And I’ll understand him if he hints back. There is a bit of romance in our relationship, but his whole story, in my opinion, is a real fairy tale during his lifetime – and it’s a wonderful story! He could have become anyone, played football and become No. 1 in Italy, or tennis, … but he preferred motorcycle racing, a much more complex sport where many disciplines are intertwined.”
“Still, I should probably try to convince him to test Desmo. Probably, I will approach Luke, he will reveal to him many aspects of how to pilot a Ducati today. You know, Vale has been in fierce opposition to Ducati for many, many years, and now he owns the Ducati team himself, and he rides this bike to take it. Isn’t this a fabulous combination of circumstances?! So I hope he does it one day.”