Rossi’s story about the first time he saw the innards of a Yamaha YZR-M1 engine

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Valentino Rossi’s decision to move from Honda to Yamaha in the 2004 season is still the most interesting story in MotoGP history.

Rossi, who had been successful and won the MotoGP World Champion title with Honda since the beginning of the millennium, decided to move to Yamaha, which at that time had not won for almost two decades.

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It was said that Rossi’s move to Yamaha was because Honda was too arrogant. Honda feels that its riders can win because they have superior motorbikes, not just because of their ability.

DAVID VINCENT/AP Yamaha Factory Racing racer from Italy, Valentino Rossi, drives his motorbike in the third free practice session for the French GP at the Le Mans circuit, Saturday (18/5/2013).

However, apparently after deciding to move to Yamaha, Rossi didn’t know what he would be facing. Moreover, previously Honda did not allow him to do the 2003 pre-season test.

Uccio Salucci, head of VR46 and Rossi’s right-hand man, said that Rossi and he first snuck out to see the Yamaha YZR-M1 motorbike and were both shocked because the motorbike was “a mess.”

“I remember the first time we saw Yamaha up close was at Donington night in 2003 when they left the garage door open at midnight. “Vale and I left the motorhome like two secret agents wearing black T-shirts, and were careful,” said Uccio as quoted by Crash, Monday (1/1/2023)/

“When we opened the door, all the Yamaha bosses were inside including Davide Brivio and Masahiko Nakashima and Carlos Checa’s motorbike was there,” he said.

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AP/VINCENT JENNINK Italian racer, Valentino Rossi, screams celebrating his victory at the Assen Circuit in the Dutch GP race, Saturday (29/6/2013).

“When I saw it, I was speechless, but because it was a very ugly motorbike, the design was bad, it was full of wires lying everywhere, it was very rough. Because we are used to seeing Hondas every day, which are actually masterpieces of technology ,” he said.

According to Uccio, Rossi was very surprised to see the motorbike he would ride next season. The MotoGP legend is even said to have cursed when he first saw the innards of the Yamaha YZR-M1.

“I remember Vale looking at me and making an expression like saying ‘damn have you seen what kind of bike that is?’ And I bowed my head as if to say we’ll talk about it later,” he said.

“When we entered the motorhome, he said to me: ‘F*** Uccio, it looks like 10 years behind us’,” said Uccio, imitating Rossi.

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motogp.com Yamaha racer, Valentino Rossi races his motorbike in the Dutch GP race at the Assen Circuit, Saturday (29/6/2013). Rossi managed to finish first.

“I told him that it makes no difference, everything will make a difference and the bike will grow a lot with people like him, Brivio and Masao Furuzawa,” said Uccio.

Even though he initially doubted Yamaha, history later recorded that Rossi was able to win in his first race using a Yamaha and won the 2004 World Champion title again.

At that time, Rossi’s achievement was very special because he was able to win two world titles using two different motorbike brands. Rossi’s victory also had an impact on the future development of Yamaha motorbikes.

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2024-01-01 01:42:00
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