Valentino Rossi back-story shows genius: “I realised he was light-years ahead”

As the MotoGP legend’s data engineer throughout his glory years, Flamigni saw how Rossi’s gift translated into brutal results.

And even hours after his final race in 2021, a private conversation with Rossi underlined how his brain never stopped seeking an edge.

“This is incredible for me too,” Flamigni told Motosprint. 

“After announcing his retirement, at the end of the last GP, in Valencia, in the evening dinner he took me aside. 

“He gave me a thought: 'You know Matteo, for me the bike would run better if I did it like this...'

“I really realised how light years ahead Valentino was. And he was."

Rossi amassed seven premier class championships and the type of mainstream fame that no other MotoGP rider has achieved.

But at his core, he was a racer. And Flamigni knew that better than anybody through his studying of Rossi’s data.

What did those numbers prove?

“A great repetitiveness and an impressive consistency of performance in the race,” Flamigni explained. 

“In hammering the clock and the opponents.

“Then the ability to slide the Yamaha quickly through corners, following a deadly braking and consequent very quick and precise turn.”

Flamigni worked with Max Biaggi at Yamaha initially, having already crafted a respected career of his own.

“Then Rossi arrived,” Flamigni said. 

“With Valentino everything changed: system, atmosphere, method. And the results."

His 2004 move from Honda to Yamaha was when his legend began to grow.

“Of course, Vale brought the M1 back into vogue, previously it forced to the centre of the group or to the rear,” Flamigni said. 

“The [sole] podium achieved by Alex Barros the year before explains the situation well. 

“While Rossi immediately hit his target, that title defined by everyone as impossible, it was a gamble just to think about it."

There are too many incredible memories for Flamigni to narrow down, but one stands out.

It came after the warm-up to the 2004 Malaysian MotoGP, with Rossi closing in on a sixth title.

"I asked Vale if everything was okay,” he remembered. 

"He seemed pretty pleased, then... He threw me away, his face dark.

“He said he couldn't wheelie, he just couldn't. 

“We still had to compete in the race, and he was already thinking about how to celebrate the victory! 

“He felt so certain that he made me feel safe.

“That anecdote is not taken by chance but, if you ask me for others, I wouldn't be able to answer. I have too many, way too many."

When Rossi retired, Flamigni stopped working as a data engineer.

He is now Marco Bezzecchi’s crew chief, in Rossi’s VR46 team.

“I felt like Rossi's telemetrist, with whom he shared triumphs and crashes, successes and hard moments, different eras in Yamaha and years in Ducati,” he said. 

“It seems like yesterday that we started, but I have worked with Rossi for almost twenty years. 

“I wanted to challenge myself differently, here I am."