The major logistics operation behind the MotoGP teams is quite something to see and this week we travelled with the Fiat Yamaha team from Silverstone to Assen for the next stop on the 2010 MotoGP calendar.
Some trivia from the trip is that Valentino Rossi’s dedicated truck driver is called Valentino himself!Valentino (the driver) has known Rossi for about ten years and is the major logistics manager of the truck and all the equipment on board.
The truck on a full load weighs a total of 32 tonnes, but Valentino is an experienced hand at this game.
A qualified mechanic, he started his trade of trucking many years ago in the luxury boat race sector.
It is his job to pack up the pit-box, drive the truck and then set up again on arrival at the next destination.
This particular trip involved a marathon in the traffic from Silverstone, only to miss the boat for the Netherlands, putting the start back by a day.
The boat trip itself is a chance for the staff to relax, before more driving to get the MotoGP Assen.
On the road with Yamaha and Valentino You do feel like quite a celebrity travelling in such an imposing context.
The arrival in Assen late, with the sun setting on a lovely evening, was a warm one, with plenty of people who turn out to line the entrance to the circuit, waving and taking more photos.
For its part, Yamaha uses these huge trucks for its movement around Europe and it is quite a spectacle.
With a bird’s eye view from the cabin of the truck, you see all the people who wave along the way and greet the team.
People pull over (sometimes at high speeds) to take photographs of the Fiat Yamaha team trucks and their pint-size Fiat 500 escort car.