Podcast: Rossi reluctant to switch
Valentino Rossi loved his Honda 500 GP machine to the extent that he didn’t want to let it go, according to his former Aussie crew chiefRespected Aussie GP mechanic, engineer and crew chief, Jeremy Burgess, says one of the greats of all time – Valentino Rossi – was hesitant about shifting to four-stroke machinery with the advent of MotoGP in 2002.
Speaking in an episode Rusty’s Garage podcast series, Burgess said the legendary 500cc bikes were so well developed that Rossi wanted to ensure he was on a winning machine during that first hybrid season (2002) which saw four-strokes competing against two-strokes.
The Honda development team was given a list of issues that needed to be resolved on the early four-stroke prototypes, and by the end of 2001 – after Rossi won the final 500cc title by a whopping 140pts over Max Biaggi – most had been fixed. Valentino really had no choice but to ride it. And he did.
“Valentino had indicated that he wanted to ride his 500cc bike in the 2002 championship. But he came in and said I’m going to have to ride the four-stroke,” said Burgess.
“The power (of the RC211) was just…it was just a no brainer. Although the new bike was going to be more difficult to stop and turn initially… probably not as nice off the corner in its infancy… he would have been gobbled up by everybody on four-strokes on the third, fourth and fifth gear shifts.”
Those early years with the new foyr-strokes brought significant change. JB witnessed rapid tyre development and tech innovation that became commonplace in the sport.
“The Japanese through their four-stroke technology in Formula One….they knew what was available. It was only at a test before the last race of the season in 2002 that we got fly-by-wire throttle with traction control. Valentino came in and said ahh don’t tell anybody about this. It’s almost cheating! (laughs).
In the wide-ranging chat, Burgess, now 65, also talks about being confronted by Casey Stoner in pit lane at Laguna Seca after his fierce battle with Valentino in 2008.
Jeremy retired at the end of 2013. He played a major part in 14 world titles in the premier class of motorcycle racing working with Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Rossi and more.
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