Davide Brivio reveals the one thing he ‘shouldn’t say’ about Valentino Rossi’s time at Yamaha

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Valentino Rossi is one of the most successful riders in MotoGP history and forged a heroic legacy all before turning 27 years old.

Back in 2003, he made the bold decision to leave Honda and join their Japanese rivals Yamaha ahead of the 2004 season.

His former team held him to his contract right until its conclusion, meaning that he had to wait until the following year to test his new machinery, but it turned out to be very worth it.

Rossi went on to add four more titles to his tally of three after joining Yamaha, claiming his final crown with them in 2009.

He stuck around for one more year after that, before a failed move to Ducati in 2011 and 2012 saw him return to the Japanese manufacturer for the rest of his career until he retired in 2021.

Original negotiations to join the team back in 2003 were so secretive that bosses were even forced to hide under tables over fears that someone may discover their plot.

Davide Brivio says he ‘shouldn’t say’ Yamaha gave some value to Valentino Rossi

Although it was deemed a risky move for Rossi to make at the time, it didn’t take him long to hush the doubters by winning the riders’ championship in each of his first two seasons with Yamaha.

Before signing the Italian, there were fears that the team couldn’t benefit from the move either way if they won or lost the championship.

Rossi’s debut season with them in 2004 was so impressive that apart from two retirements, his worst finish of the year was fourth place.

READ MORE: Casey Stoner started to lose ‘respect’ for Valentino Rossi after one MotoGP overtake

Speaking in an interview with Crash.net, ex-Yamaha manager Davide Brivio admitted that he thinks the team gave something back to their superstar rider, even if he thinks he shouldn’t have said it.

“And bringing Valentino to Yamaha, we kind of showed that both elements are important in this world,” he said.

“And I’m quite proud of that because I think we gave back some value to the man, the sport. Ok, working for a manufacturer I shouldn’t say that, but I think at that time we had the feeling that we contributed to balance a little bit more the importance of the bike compared to the importance of the rider.”

Valentino Rossi has turned his MotoGP focus to the VR46 team in recent times

Rossi is trying to persuade Pedro Acosta to join his VR46 MotoGP team which would be a massive coup for them.

The youngster achieved the most podiums of any non-Ducati rider in 2024 and has shown flashes of championship-winning capabilities.

Challenging for a crown this early in his career may be a bit of a stretch though, and is why Rossi has backed Francesco Bagnaia for the 2025 title.

VR46 aren’t in a position to challenge for a MotoGP title currently, but they do benefit from having the best bike in the sport currently.

Fabio Di Giannantonio will use the GP25 machine this year, while Franco Morbidelli will use the older GP24.

Acosta on a GP25 bike, regardless of whether it’s at a satellite team would be a title challenger. With KTM’s lingering financial issues, he may be giving a move some thought.