Valentino Rossi’s protégés are holding their own in the highly competitive MotoGP: Buddy Alessio “Uccio” Salucci reviews 2023 and looks ahead to 2024
With his VR46 Academy and the Grand Prix team, Valentino Rossi has breathed new life into motorcycle racing in Italy. A good ten years ago, the future of Italian riders did not look too bright. But Rossi was instrumental in promoting and developing young talent
World champion Francesco Bagnaia is just as much a part of the VR46 Academy as Marco Bezzecchi, who finished third in the World Championship last season. Bezzecchi and VR46 teammate Luca Marini also brought Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP team third place in the team standings.
A large part of the VR46 team’s success is due to his buddy Alessio “Uccio” Salucci, who works as team principal. During the Ducati “Campioni in Festa” event, “Uccio” was asked how Rossi rates the past MotoGP season on a scale of zero to ten.
“Twenty! Vale is very proud of what we have achieved in the various projects, whether it’s the Academy or the team,” commented Salucci. “We won the championship with Bagnaia and finished third with the team thanks to ‘Bez’. “
“Of all the things Valentino said, the one that sticks in my mind the most is: ‘Wow, we won MotoGP! He said that after the win in Argentina. He sent me a message that made me laugh, because we won with him in MotoGP for years. He was referring to Bezzecchi’s victory with the team. It made me laugh when he of all people said it,” says “Uccio”, describing a scene from the 2023 MotoGP season
Winter tests heralded the progress of Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Bezzecchi showed a remarkable improvement in his second MotoGP season. In the meantime, Bezzecchi was one of the potential world championship contenders on last year’s Ducati. According to “Uccio”, Bezzecchi’s positive development was already apparent in his MotoGP debut season
“We could already see an improvement in Marco from halfway through the 2022 season to the end. Then he was very strong in the post-season test and also rode really well in the pre-season tests,” recalls Salucci.
Marco Bezzecchi’s commitment to VR46: Team spirit more important than factory Ducati
During the season, Bezzecchi had to decide whether he wanted to ride a current factory Ducati at Pramac or whether he would continue to ride with VR46 in 2024 with last year’s material. Bezzecchi opted for VR46.
“I am very proud and happy about Marco’s decision,” commented “Uccio”. “To be honest, I didn’t put any pressure on him. I wanted him to decide for himself and not be influenced by us. “
“We had an option. You have to remember that,” said the VR46 team boss, explaining: “If we had really wanted to, we could have forced him to stay with us for another year. But we wanted to do it differently. “
Can the VR46 team confirm the form of 2023?
After this year’s success, expectations are high for 2024. But “Uccio” is deliberately putting the brakes on: “The goal for 2024 is to confirm what we have achieved this year. We always want to be in the top 5 in the races, at least at the start of the championship. Then the goals can change depending on how things go. “
“I would like to continue where we left off. That would be a good starting point for the new season,” says the long-time companion of Valentino Rossi, looking ahead to the 2024 MotoGP season, for which the VR46 team has signed a new rider in Fabio Di Giannantonio.
It remains to be seen which manufacturer the VR46 team will continue with from 2025. Behind the scenes, Rossi’s team is negotiating with Yamaha. It is conceivable that VR46 will be the Yamaha customer team from the 2025 MotoGP season onwards
