Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has announced the appointment of a new crew chief for the 2020 season at a press conference ahead of the PTT Thailand Grand Prix. Current crew chief Silvano Galbusera will be replaced next season by Nicolo Bulega’s (SKY Racing Team VR46) current Crew Chief, David Muñoz in a bid to strengthen the nine-time MotoGP champions chances of taking a tenth title next year.
Galbusera replaced Jeremy Burgess as Rossi’s crew chief in 2014, but the pairing has failed to replicate the success of the Burgess Rossi combo, managing just nine wins in their six seasons together.
“Yes, it is true. For next year I will change my chief mechanic. After Misano, we speak together with Silvano because we want to try and do something to be stronger” Rossi explained. “It was a different factor all together, as Silvano wants to continue working for Yamaha but with less stress and less days out of Italy. Also, at the same time, Yamaha want to make the test team stronger for next year, to improve the work in Europe.”
Muñoz impressed Rossi with his instrumental role in Francesco Bagnaia’s (Pramac Racing) 2018 Moto2 world championship win and despite his lack of experience in MotoGP, Rossi is hoping the young crew chiefs’ fresh approach can help in his efforts at claiming his elusive 10th title in 2020
