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/128385
Crew chief Jeremy Burgess is the man behind the Legend oone is more qualified to comment on Valentino Rossi than Jeremy Burgess. The genial and talented Australian has been Rossi's crew chief since the brilliant Italian moved to the premier class with Honda in 2000. A few mistakes cost him the title that year, but he's won every one since. And he's winning this year's in a runaway. Burgess is the most prolific crew chief of the modern era. In addition to Rossi's four premier-class titles (one in 500cc and three in MotoGP), Burgess earned five more as the crew chief for fellow Australian Mick Doohan. From 1994 to 1998, Doohan won everything. Only a career-ending accident at Jerez in 1999 stopped the string. And before Doohan there was Wayne Gardner, another battling Australian who won his only 500cc title in 1987, also with Burgess at the helm. N 48 JULY 6,2005 • CYCLE NEWS Burgess began his Grand Prix career in the early '80s and learned under Erv Kanemoto during Freddie Spencer's championship-winning early years. Ironically, many of the former 2S0cc riders that Doohan was criticized for beating - Loris Capirossi, Max Biaggi, Alex Barros - are the same ones that Rossi is dominating over. It seemed like a good place to start. Why isn't Rossi criticized for beating the same 250 riders as Doohan? They said that about Mick [Doohan], but I guess they can't keep saying that sort of thing. And Valentino [Rossi] was a 250 rider. He's come through the ranks, so to speak. He's raced in all the classes. Mick, on the other hand, suffered a little bit from the legacy left when Kevin [Schwantz] and Wayne [Rainey] had gone, and he was sort of there standing alone, and perhaps not enough credit was given to the guys coming up. It's hard to say. Certainly, Valentino being young and beating people who were older is a little bit different to Mick being older and beating people who were younger. If you go back to a Pete Sampras or a Michael Schumacher, we really have to enjoy the brilliance of the people when they're dominant over their competition, rather than blame the guys who are good, who could actually lower their performances. We have to actually give them more credit because they're still putting in these blinding performances when they don't have to. You can still be the best tennis player in the world, but if you strive to win every competition, you're the best tennis player by a long shot. And a Michael Schumacher and a Mick Doohan and a Valentino Rossi fall into that group. Could Valentino win without you? I think without question Valentino Rossi and all of these guys motivate the team. My feeling is that bringing two things and changing only the machine - i.e., bringing himself and the team - gave us a little bit of strength to