Dorna Communications

A big talking point from Thursday was the news that Valentino Rossi is set to change crew chiefs for 2020, the final year of his current contract, with David Muñoz replacing Silvano Galbusera. The number 46 confirmed it in the #THAIGP Press Conference.

“Yes, it's true. For next year I will change my chief mechanic. After Misano, we spoke together with Silvano because we want to try and do something to be stronger. It was different factors all together, as Silvano also 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.

"Sincerely, I didn’t expect it at the beginning, but we spoke and decided that Silvano will go to the test team and I will have another chief mechanic. He is coming from our team in Moto2. His name is David Muñoz and he worked together with ‘Pecco’ last year and won the Championship, and he's with Nicolo this year. I am excited and it is a new experience, he doesn’t have any experience with MotoGP. He is very young and has good ideas and, in the end, everyone is happy. Silvano is also happy to stay in the test team, so we will try and see if we can become stronger.”

Pressed a little further, Rossi says he likes the way Muñoz works – although he also noted the loss for his own Sky Racing Team VR46. “His was the first name because I know him very well, I follow the team well. Last year, he did a very good job with Pecco. I liked the way that he managed the end of the season when he had a lot of pressure and Pecco was a little bit nervous of losing the Championship to Oliveira. I liked how he is quiet and the way he managed the situation. I asked him. Unfortunately, it's something negative for our team because he’s very important for our team, but it’s something to try, so we shall see...”