Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128326
ever to be . It was classic stuff, with Chili warming to one of his favorite subjects officialdom and where they can all stick it. Chili once claimed to have never paid any fines imposed on him by the FIM, and you have to say you could believe it of him. The original awkwardly shaped straight shooter. 7. Single.Mindedness: Give Chili a task to take on , and you'd better stand back and let the bloke get on with it. A man legendary for focus, for sheer intensity of purpose, Chili can occasionally let this attribute get the better of him. If Frankie can get on the right track of thought, then he can do remarkable things - like take a 2-year-old nee-road bike to a win at Misano against all the new 999s and the like. But if it goes negative, such as his feelings about riding a 750cc Suzuki against the big Duke and Honda twins in 2oo2? Up or down, he's 100 percent his own man. 8, In the Blue Corner: Now, who doesn 't remember Chili's temper getting the better of him so much that he gate-crashed the postrace press conference at Assen in 1998 to give Fogarty a good tonguelashing and hand-bagging? He felt that Fogarty had punted him off, and he was so incensed that he had already punched Foggy immediately after the race, albeit with their crash helmets still on. The fact that Fogarty clearly didn't cause Chili's crash, even if he had made a couple of very naughty block-passes earlier in the lap, meant nothing, as Chili, complete with post-shower hooded bathrobe and sandals, squared up to Foggy and lashed out in full view of the bike, but nobody was winning with that bike before, " said Chili. "I could make it win with a very good Alstare team." 5. Versatility: Having been a race winner on 12Ss, 2S0cc GPs, 500cc GPs, World Superbike on twins and fours , Chili can really ride 'em all. He was a European Champ ion in 1985 on a 125, went to 500cc GPs, won a boycotted race at Misano, scored his first World Superbike w in for Ducati at Monza in 1995, won races on a Suzuki GSXR7S0 on which most other good rider s could only signal the end the ir World Superbike factory careers , and now has gone back to w inning on a venerable 998. The re is a limit, though , as he needs a front end with total feedback to give his best. Hence his dislike of the 999 and his number-one place on Ducat i Corse's current infamy list. like he cares . 6. Rebelliousness: Picture the scene: The FIM and the Flammini organization made the mistake of giving out the rules and regulations in public at the season opening South African race a few years ago. Midway through the spiel, when the FIM spokesman started on the revised fines structure for infractions of the rules, Frankie hopped up, grabbed the mic and belted out his criticism of all regulatory bodies present - now, in the past , and 34 JUNE 2, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary world's media . Seconds out , round seven, seven , seven for the Bologna Bomber. 9, His Family: Italians are legendary for their close-knit family units. Chili is by no means alone in being a family man in the paddocks of the world, but it's another reason why people love him. Who could not be moved by the sight of Chiliand his son grinning away on the podium, or Chili crying his eyes out on 1Y as he shared the Misano win - nay, claimed he shared the very bike, no less - with the spirit of his recently deceased grandmother? Frankie daddy and grandson of them all. 10, Individuality: When Chili eventually retires from racing (not anytime soon, it appears), he wants to ... Well, let him explain: "My dream when I stop racing is to make a lot of training to do the triathlon. I want to do an Ironman competition. But for that, I need maybe two years of training. I don't want to go there thinking to win, but I want to finish in a good condition ." Just for fun, Chili has recently completed another of his road cycling races. "I improved my time from last year by half an hour," said Chili. '" was just I 2 minutes from the leader, and my average in the 86km [53.3 miles] was 34.7kmph [21.5 mph] . There were five big hills...." Final proof of his lone-wolf lifestyle? In among the Italian Lorises and Valentinas in the schoolyard, Chili's son and daughter are called Kevin and Sharon! The last word goes to Chili himself. An insight into what keeps him going so strong, what makes him the force of nature he is, comes from a statement he made regarding his most vivid memory of the past 20-odd years of racing: "My strongest memory will come from tomorrow. Every time I dream, I dream for tomorrow." eN