Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

The Men Behind Valentino Rossi Ucio Salucci: Ucio SaJucci has been Rossi's best friend for a very long time and is one of the gloriously titled "Tribu de Chihuahua" He's so close to the whole thing that he is omnipresent in the Rossi camp, and his father, Reno, organizes the vast Rossi fan club. "We are group of 10 people, 10 friends, from Tavullia, but Valentino and I have always had a partiCUlarly good relationship," Salucci says, continuing on the theme of how he personally helps Rossi by just being who he is - his buddy. "In my opinion, I can bring Valentino calm, tranquility, a degree of normality. When we are in such an atmosphere of tension at racetracks, because we grew up together, we don't talk about races. We talk about what happened last week or what will happen next week. I can transmit some tension away from Valentino." On a practicalleYel, Salucci also has a few more definite functions, one whidlleads him on a long and winding road in luxury. ':Also, I drive the motor home!" he says. But is it all glamour and jet set lifestyles? Well, pretty much, according to SaJucci, even if there is an element of self-sacrifICe involved. "I can no longer do many things I used to do, but I know a lot of different people," SaJucci says. "I have not lost anything; because we have the same friends, I do get home to see my family sometimes. Vale's racing has given me a great life. I have been able to see the world. 1can earn good money, so there are many benefits. Actually, not so much money! Yes, I have to work very hard, but my favorite sport has always been bike racing, so 1regard myself as lucky. This is my personal passion, and yes there are some difficult moments, but I am always happy to do this." As team man· ager before the Rossi era in Yamaha, Davide Brivio is a relatively late addition to Rossi's battlements, but he has known little Vale for a long time. Asked about his own role, he started talking about Rossi. "I think he has a great talent, but he is also intelligent and clever, and can use his talent 100 percent," Brivio says. "Having such an expert rider, I don't need to say what he has to do or what he doesn't have to do with the racing - better leave it to him." At the track, Brivio's roles are many, but for Rossi person- 48 SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS ally, Brivio irons out the wrinkles to let Rossi get on with the important business of winning. "The important part of the job is to make sure that he has everything he needs, then we can completely trust and be confident about what he can do," he says. "We make sure he has all the top tools, in the best possible conditions, and for this we have the top technicians, then we can make sure he feels relaxed and happy. Then he is very good at putting everything together and transforming everything into a victory." When asked if Valentino has more of a shield around him than other riders he has known, Brivio states, "I think all riders feel that it is important to have people they trust and like around, to have a human side. Valentino is particularly good at developing these human relationships. He does not only take, he also gives, in any human relationship. So it is not difficult to stay close to him - it is a pleasure." But the baggage that comes with looking after the biggest name the sport has ever seen must be a major upset to the smooth working of the entire effort, right? "Of course, with him being so famous, we have many more complications," Brivio says. "The media all want to talk to him all the time, the public want autographs. This influences a lot of things we do. For example, if we want to go to a restaurant, we have to think how busy it is. If he has to go from the garage to hospitality, we have to make sure there are not 50 many people around. So this influences the things we can do, but I can say that it is well compensated for in the human side of things." Worth the extra efforts then? "If I had to have a rider that no one cares about and that no one wanted to get the autograph of, then we would probably miss all the public attention," Brivio admits. "So this is often a good problem to have." Straight talking is an Aussie trait, and in the shape of Jeremy Burgess, it has been honed to an art form, with a twist of the incisive intelligence and total understanding of what it takes to win added in. His answer to how much input he has in the whole Rossi thing outside the garage is typical. "None at all," Burgess says. "Clearly, my job is with Yamaha to give him the best bike. Our formula is pretty much the same even before Valentino came along. We've had World Championships as a group even before Valentino arrived, and we continued to work the way we had. I think that suited Valentino just fine." As Rossi himself has stated, the Aussie connection in his garage is invaluable, and it gives Burgess a charlCe to exercise his legendary dry wit when he describes how he started out in his relationship with Rossi· when he left Aprilia to go racing in the premier class with Honda. "I think he realized that riding the 500 was quite different, so we had to help him," Burgess says. 'l6.nd the ex-Mick Doohan team was as good as any that was on the scrap heap at that time." As seemingly the odd lads out in Rossi's moveable little Italy, bathing Rossi in Latin love, Burgess doesn't see himself as that far out the loop. "The Australian and the Italian mentality is very similar," Burgess says. 'i\ustralia is full of Italians who have emigrated there, and I myself have grown up in an area where there were a lot of Italians. So it certainly wasn't difficult for me to assimilate with the Italians." As Rossi was changed by his exposure to a new bike and a new way of working, the tight-knit Burgess crew has also grown in different ways. "We have expanded that group a bit now, because the Yamaha group is different from the way things were with Honda," Burgess explains. "Our telemetry guy is Italian now, and so it is easer, sometimes, for him to describe things to Valentino. I approve of that more direct way of working, because it allows Valentino to get the information back to us more quickly. It also means that he can get away to carry out the other commitments he has. After Valentino has downloaded all the info to us, we then become the 'memory' of Valentino and put all the changes in place." These commitments are an obvious complication when compared to most other riders, something you feel was not a worry for Burgess and Co. when Doohan was the guy. If it rankles him, Burgess does a good job of hiding it. "Certainly he's always got other commitments, and he's always in demand," he says. "So, sometimes he can get a tittle behind, either because we have reasons to need him, so there my be a time when we need to wait until he comes back. Obviously the demands on his time interfere with both sides ofthe coin." It's also surely a bit weird for Burgess to have to deal with Rossi's extended group of management, PRo family and friends who always seem to be either there or thereabouts. Is Rossi unique in that respect? "He's grown up in his area with the friends he went to school with," Burgess says. "He's only in his mid-20s, and he's been here since he was about 16, so they have always been here. I think they enjoy it every bit as much as he enjoys it." More dry Burgess wit ensues: "I don't think he physically goes out there and pays their bus fares to come out here. I think they want to come. If I had a Valentino Rossi in my town, I think I might well come here to support him." Given the plethora of requests that come the way of Rossi and his management team, Gibo Badioli is a busy man, one who makes sure that all things go through a screen of scrutiny. Forming a company called Great White London, Badioli is the head of a group of people dedicated to the simultaneous promotion and protection of Rossi the man and Rossi the superstar. He is something of a fan who cannot qUite believe that he is part of Rossi's inner sanctum, according to his comments. "When he passes by, he turns on a light inside you," Badioli says. "I almost feel uncomfortable by saying he is a friend. We are talking about Valentino! But we certainly share more than a working relationship. I think he knows he is the best, but he does not dwell on it too much, or at least he does not show it. His strength is unquestionable, and if he does not belong to a class of its own, he certainly belongs to a very small group... if you count them on the fingers of two hands, that would be too many."

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