I don't know anything about him ...  

Probably more about Vale than Uccio but..

Valentino Rossi answers what role people play in his life and other things.
Father, Graziano.
“Apart from being my father, Graziano has always been one of the main supports of my sports career. He was the one who introduced me and supported me when I began to be interested in the world of bikes and racing.”

Mother, Stefanía.
“My mother always preferred to stay away from races. The most important for her is to see that I'm OK and happy. She usually gives me advice about personal things, but when it is about racing, it's my father who can give me advice if needed.”

Friend, Uccio.
“He is my best friend and a couple of years ago he also began working for me, taking care of the motorhome and going with me to the races. We know each other since we were kids and that's a great advantage when you are working together.”

Manager, Gibo
“Gibo is not only my agent, he's also my friend. You could say that he is 50% manager and 50% friend. We have a very special relationship, we don't only talk about bikes, we also talk about our private stuff.”

A favourite in motorcycle racing?
“Kevin Schwantz was the one who impressed me most of all the riders of his generation. He was spectacular and brave, braked like nobody else and never resigned himself to the fact of finishing second.”

Outside the racing world?
“Ronaldo, the soccer player. Because of his character, personality and professionalism, and because he is out of the ordinary.”

Is there life beyond the races?
“Yes, of course there is. While we are in the World Championship, we all work hard and are dedicated to our jobs, but there are obviously a lot of interesting things beyond this world. When I'm not racing I love to spend time with my family and friends, with no doubt the most important things in my life.”

Dog or cat?
“I prefer dogs, I don't like cats at all. I have a bulldog called Guido, and I have very interesting conversations with him when we're alone... Besides, Guido is always with me on the bike. I have a drawing of him on the back of the bike. Guido lives in Italy with my mother because I can't have him with me in London due to the constant travelling.”

Sea or mountains?
“Mountains.., although I also like the sea in Ibiza a lot. I like to go to the mountains because it's a place where you usually find peace and it's easy to relax.”

What does fame taste like?
“Fame is a mixture of sweet and sour. The sweet taste are the advantages you get due to your fame, but it sometimes tastes sour because the moment you become famous you stop having the intimacy and peace you would like to enjoy.”

A car?
“I've been fascinated by Porsches since my childhood. Right now, my favourite is the 911 GT2, a very funny "toy"...”

Does music calm the beasts?
“I like music a lot, but I think that there is a time for each kind of music. It helps me both to relax and to cheer me up.”

Does champagne taste different on the podium?
“I don't like champagne very much, but it's obviously something totally different when you are on the podium. That one I like, and a lot!”

The Euro confuses me?
“No, although if you don't get used to it, you feel like you are spending less and the fact is that it's exactly the contrary. But, anyway, the most important is to have enough to be able to spend it.”

A quality?
“I'm very sincere, I always say what I think.”

A defect?
“I'm always late and that's something I can't avoid, no matter how hard I try.”

Marital status?
“Single. I had a girl friend a couple of months ago but I think it is better to be single, given the lives we lead. It's very difficult to have a relationship when you're always far from home, travelling from one country to another... Of course there's the option to take your girl to all the races, but that's something that doesn't convince me.”

A religion?
“I'm a practising catholic.”

Ideologically, right or left?
“I'm not interested in politics at all, I don't have any kind of ideas and it's one of the things I like less.”

The best of living in London...
“In London you can find everything you're looking for; no matter if you're looking for peace or if you're looking for party and bustle, London is the city. You have a great variety to choose from and there are restaurants with food from all over the world.”

The worst of living in London...
“The traffic and the weather. For a Latin it's hard to get used to living in a place with so much rain and so little sun. And the traffic, because driving in London is almost impossible, neither in a car nor on a bike.”

I miss...
“I miss having a one metre eighty tall Brazilian model by my side... No, the truth is that there is nothing I miss, I have everything I need to be happy.”

I would define myself as...
“I think I'm above all a funny person, I like to have a good time and enjoy life, together with my friends and my family.”

It started in elementary school state "Vittorio Board of Tavullia, the school attended by Valentino Rossi pupil.
La sua classe mista contiene già per intero il microcosmo che diventerà poi il suo mondo di ragazzo cresciuto. His class has already mixed for the entire microcosm who went on to become his world boy grew. Lì ci sono le amichette, lì nasce la Tribù dei Chihuahua, lì ci sono i grandi amici, alcuni dei quali scompariranno troppo presto e tragicamente segnando di profondo dolore la giovinezza di Valentino. There are the friends, there comes the Tribe of Chihuahua, where there are great friends, some of whom disappear too quickly and tragically marking of deep sorrow youth Valentino. Lì, accanto a lui, da allora e poi su su attraverso gli anni ed anche oggi più che mai, c'è il suo alter ego, la sua ombra, il suo doppio, la sua coscienza e anche la sua incoscienza, colui che più di ogni altro condivide la sua vita: dalla guida del camper e dell'auto alle attese snervanti delle prove e delle gare, dalle gioie più grandi ai momenti più difficili da affrontare e che ci sono anche nelle storie più belle. There, next to him, then and then on through the years and now more than ever, there is his alter ego, his shadow, his double, his conscience and his unconsciousness, who more any other shares his life by driving the camper and the car snervanti expectations of the trials and races, from greatest joys to the most difficult to deal with and that there are even in the most beautiful stories.
"Ho vinto il mondiale 2001 delle 500 perché se no Uccio mi menava", scriveva Valentino sulla sua maglietta al numero 20 dei 36 perché aveva trionfato con la sua Honda Nsr. "I won the 2001 World of 500 because if no Uccio I menava" Valentino wrote about his shirt number 20 of 36 because he had triumphed with his Honda Nsr. Dunque Alessio Salucci, per tutti e per la storia solo "Uccio", è il simbolo vivente del principio su cui si basa tutta l'etica di vita di Valentino: l'amicizia. So Alessio Salucci for all and the only story "Uccio, is the living symbol of the principle on which the whole Basa ethics of life Valentino: friendship.

"Gli amici sono quelli che non ti tradiscono mai e il tradimento è l'unica cosa che distingue gli amici dai non amici". "Friends are those who do not and will never betray the betrayal is the only thing that distinguishes friends by not friends". Questo ha sempre dichiarato con convinzione, ed è certo che mentre pronuncia queste parole ha in mente proprio "Uccio". This has always declared with conviction, and it is certain that as he says these words in mind their "Uccio.
Pensare che lui possa tradire Valentino è come pensare che possa prendere in mano un pugnale e uccidere metà di se stesso. Thinking that he might betray Valentino think that is how to take over a dagger and kill half of himself.
"Il Rossi ricco è uguale al Rossi povero?" "The rich Rossi Rossi is the same as the poor?" ha dichiarato "Uccio" alla rivista "Motosprint": "non fa mai pesare quello che ha, le sue amicizie sono le stesse di sempre. Non ti fa mai sentire a disagio. Questo è il bello. Lui ha solo paura di essere giudicato male. Le critiche lo amareggiano e soffre quando parlano male di lui". Said "Uccio" the magazine "Motosprint" means "not ever weigh what he, his friends are the same as always. Ago not you ever feel uncomfortable. This is beautiful. Him only fear of being judged evil . Criticism and the amareggiano suffers when they speak evil of him.


Valentino e "Uccio", due cuori e una sola moto. Valentino and "Uccio, two hearts and one motorcycle. Praticamente per la vita. Practically for life. Il giorno che Vale dovesse veramente andare a fare il pilota di rally chi potrebbe essere il suo navigatore, quello che si siede a fianco del pilota e gli da tutte le dritte sul tracciato da affrontare? The day that Vale should really go to rally driver who could be his navigator, the one that sits next to the pilot and all on the straight path to be addressed? Naturalmente "Uccio", quell'Alessio Salucci da Tavullia, compagno di classe di Valentino alla scuola elementare "Vittorio Giunta". Of course, "Uccio" quell'Alessio Salucci from Tavullia, a classmate of Valentino to school "Vittorio Junta."

Se tutta questa storia di amicizia non è roba da libro Cuore poco ci manca. If all this history of friendship is not stuff from the book Heart little lacking there. Naturalmente un Cuore trapiantato sulle piste e in mezzo ai motori, dove i ragazzi hanno nervi d'acciaio, riflessi pronti, ironia da vendere e non hanno assolutamente paura né di maestri né di direttori. Of course, a heart transplanted on the slopes and in the middle of the engine, where the boys have nerves of steel, reflexes ready, irony for sale and have absolutely no fear or teachers or directors. Anzi sono lì per batterli. Indeed are there to beat them. Proprio come la Vale&Uccio, premiata ditta conosciuta in tutto il mondo. Just as the Vale & Uccio, award-winning company known throughout the world.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH UCCIO: VALE'S BEST FRIEND

The man that's with Vale every race is his best friend. His name is Uccio. Read the following interview and you'll know a lot more about him and also a lot more about Vale!

For how long have you known Valentino? "Quite a few years. We went to school together from four to the end of what would be the equivalent of "high school". That would be roughly nineteen years, though I don't remember well, we were so young..."

How do you remember him as a student; was Valentino a good student? "He was intelligent, had a good memory and it was easy for him to learn. But he didn't like it, so his results were not the best, but only because he didn't want them to be."

Do you remember what his hobbies were as a kid? "Yes, Valentino was crazy about Formula 1. He dreamed of it, the F1 drivers were his idols, he was constantly drawing single-seaters and helmets, and the truth is that his designs had quite a good style... His favourite driver was Jean Alesi, and Valentino would spend hours drawing his helmet and making new designs."

Did you get often into trouble as kids? "Sure! What else can a group of five or six kids in a small town of about eight hundred people do? Well, just about everything, any game or challenge would do and with our bikes we were the terror of Tavullia and especially of our school... I remember some teachers worried about us a lot and were scared that we would get hurt. The street leading to our school went all the way down and we always raced in braking late. Our teachers feared that one of us would end up crashing against the wall and they were always telling us to ride more slowly and carefully. Injuries were quite common. Once Valentino and I were trying to reach a tray with sweets that was on a shelf. Since we couldn't reach it, I asked Valentino to put another chair on top of the one we were already using... You can probably imagine what happened, the chair moved, Valentino lost his balance, I couldn't hold him and he ended up with a broken arm..."

What is the town of Tavullia like? "It's a very small town with only about eight hundred inhabitants. With the surrounding areas there would probably be about three thousand inhabitants, but Tavullia as such is very small. We all know each other and everybody knows everything about everybody."

When did Valentino begin to show his qualities on motorbikes? "It all started with karts, when he was eight. He won the regional 60cc championship and that encouraged him to try and race in the 100cc the following year. But that was more expensive, so his father, Graciano, said that the kart adventure was over and that it was time to try his luck with minibikes. At nine we started to race on minibikes. I raced a couple of years for fun, but Valentino was completely different. He was very fast in the Italian Championship from the beginning. He finished second that year, although every time he managed to take the lead of a race he would end up crashing..."

In those first years, did you and Valentino talk about the Motorcycle World Championship? "No, we really didn't. In those times, Valentino was still much more attracted by Formula 1, his real passion. Then, when he started racing in the Sport Production series on the Cagiva 125, he took an interest in riders such as Loris Capirossi, who he admired a lot, and Kevin Schwantz. Shortly after that he began taking part in the Spanish Championship, and I remember that in his first 125cc World Championship in 1996, during the preseason in Jerez, he was very excited about sharing the track with Aspar, Sakata, Aoki..."

Apart from being his friend, what else does Uccio do for Valentino, what are your duties? "In Europe I take care of his motorhome, I drive it from one Grand Prix to the other, I take care of the maintenance, cleaning it and making sure that everything is in place. Then, during the Grand Prix, I take care that Valentino has everything he needs at hand, that he is reassured and not worried by excessive commitments, etc... Outside of Europe I take care of things like leathers, helmets and mainly stay by his side. It is important for him to have somebody close by, especially when he is so far away from home."

Have you always travelled with Valentino? "Yes, since Valentino started racing I've tried not to miss any race. In 1994 and 1995, my father's transport company, CE-SAL, sponsored Valentino so I used to go to every race and combined the activities with working in my father's company, driving trucks. And one day, in 1997, Valentino asked me to work for him, accompanying him and driving his motorhome. I talked to my father, and despite not being very enthusiastic about the idea at the beginning, he finally agreed and for some time I combined both jobs. As time went by I began to travel more with Valentino and finally left the job at my father's company."

What is life like in London for two Italian guys? Do you talk about motorbikes outside the races? "The truth is that we're not often in London. Most of the time we're travelling. If it's not the races then it's preseason practices and we also try to spend some time in Tavullia every now and then. But when we are in London we try to lead a very relaxed life. Valentino has to devote at least one hour a day to interviews. The rest of the time we do a bit of everything. He goes to the fitness centre for a couple of hours, and I join him, although I usually don't workout with him, I only tell him his working plan. We also go to the movies, shopping and well, we do things any guy our age would do in that city. The first year and a half it was a bit hard for us to get used to it. We hardly knew anyone and we changed from living in a very small town to living in London. Later on we met some Italians who lived there as well and we began to have a group of people to go out with, so our situation improved. As for whether we talk about motorbikes or not, we usually do, especially if we are at a highly contended stage of the championship and there is pressure. But when we are with other people, Valentino prefers to talk about other things."

Has Valentino's character changed in any way since he became famous? "No, he hasn't changed at all. What has changed has been the way to see people from his position. Before, everybody was a friend and everybody was nice but then he noticed that some people were only trying to get near him because he was famous and earned money. But he hasn't changed as a person."

This is Valentino Rossi's seventh season in the World Championship. How many years do you think his motivation for winning and competing in the World Championship will last? "Yes, that's a problem because Valentino is still very young, he's only 23, but he's already been at the highest level competition for seven years. He is a kid, but a big kid, because all other kids of his age do not have the same mentality. I believe that he will be competing as long as he has fun doing it; as soon as he stops having fun he'll give it up. Maybe there are four or five years left. I know he would love to win the MotoGP World Championship on an Italian bike and I'm sure that next year he will be closely watching the evolution of Ducati and Aprilia in the World Championship. It would be like a dream, an Italian rider, riding an Italian bike, winning the World Championship..."

Which of Valentino's virtues would you highlight? "Valentino is a person who always tells you what he is thinking no matter whether it's good or bad. For me, that's one of his best virtues, because he never keeps anything for himself, he likes things to be clear. If somebody plays a dirty trick on him, Valentino doesn't shut up, he tells that person exactly what he thinks."

And a defect? "That he's always late, that's something that bothers me a lot. For me being late is being disrespectful towards the person who is waiting. He doesn't do it on purpose, but I'm always telling him, that if you agreed to meet me at ten, you shouldn't arrive at ten thirty... And the worst of it is that he doesn't arrive late because he's doing something important, but because he's at home, absentminded, letting time go by."

And what does Valentino like most outside the paddock? "Playing soccer, both in London and in Italy and dirt-tracking on a specially prepared bike he has in Tavullia."

And the least? "Interviews.., although what he hates most is shooting advertising spots, because he has to put on make up, repeat the same scene several times and the shooting usually takes several hours..."

The day Uccio saw Valentino happier than ever? "I believe it was the day he won the first World Championship on the 125cc, in Brno, in the Czech Republic, in 1997. That was something very special, it was an unforgettable day."

How many crazes and superstitions do you remember from Valentino? "It's incredible. When Valentino is in the World Championship he becomes very superstitious. He's got a lot of superstitions. For example, Valentino always starts dressing from the left side. That is, first the left sleeve of the shirt, of the leathers, of a jacket or the left shoe... In normal life he is more relaxed with these things, but as soon as he gets to the races he becomes incredibly superstitious."

Uccio, you have dedicated almost all your life to Valentino. Once he gives up racing, what will Alessio Salucci do? "Well, that's a question I've asked myself some times. I don't know, maybe I'll go back to working with my father, although maybe I'll keep on working with Valentino if he continues with car racing... This is a difficult question but, as I told you, for the moment... I don't know. I'm sure we'll find something."