David Munoz recalls the meeting with Valentino Rossi at Brno 2019 and the transition to MotoGP. “It was easier without too many journalists and photographers”.
This season will be the second one alongside Valentino Rossi for David Munoz, the crew chief from Sky Racing Team. Last September he became a father for the first time, during the weekend in Misano. The right starting point for another comedy sketch from the Doctor at the press conference: “Nowadays, it is usual to be present during the childbirth, that’s why I see David a little shocked. Me in the delivery room? Today if you don’t go there you ruin the relationship with your partner forever. I will pretend to faint in the early stages, so at least I will have an excuse to go out”.
David Munoz has been in the MotoGP paddock for over 20 years, working alongside Carlos Checa, Jorge Lorenzo, Toni Elías, but also Sito Pons and Alberto Puig. Until Valentino Rossi summoned him to the Sky Racing Team first and then to Yamaha. “With the VR46 we started the project with Bagnaia and Manzi,” Motosan.es reports. “In the first year, we made our debut with Pecco and in the second we won the World Cup. Then came Marini. In addition to starting the project and being the project leader of the whole Moto2, I followed Bagnaia “.
THE BAD NEWS FIRST: “YOU ARE OUT”
The Brno weekend in 2019 was the turning point in his career. “The cockpit in Sky is made up of Pablo, Uccio, and Valentino – continues David Munoz -. At the Brno race, they sat me down and said “We have two news, one good and one bad, which one do you want to hear first?” I said the bad and they blurted “You are out”. Then I asked for the good one. “The boss wants you with him.” In the afternoon, the decisive meeting with the champion even if the Spanish coach was initially hesitant. “I didn’t have experience in MotoGP and I wondered what I could bring to Valentino. I thought that if he had chosen me it was because he believed I could help.”
The transition took place overnight, from the last race in Valencia to the first MotoGP test. The pandemic has “played” a bit in his favor … “I was very impressed to be sitting next to Valentino Rossi. At the same time, everything was easier for me, because I didn’t have many journalists and photographers around. It was a relief.”
You can find the same piece in Italian on corsedimoto.com