Published in Superbike Magazine August 2000
Davide Tardozzi, friend and team manager to Carl Fogarty. But after the unthinkable happened in Philip Island as Carl crashed out of the Championship, would the Ducati Empire crumble or could Tardozzi make the right decisions to save the season. More to the point, are they his decisions to make in the first place? I caught up with a very honest Davide, high on the factory team’s first win of the season by Troy Bayliss at Hockenheim... You said a few weeks ago, “Ducati is Carl Fogarty and without him, there is no point.” Do you still feel the same way?
I think that today Troy did a very good job, but Carl is still Carl. I mean, today we found a guy that can win races, he still has to learn tracks for next year, and maybe he has the opportunity to be with us then. I still think that Carl is untouchable and he is the fastest rider in the Championship.
Has this weekend been a turning point for Ducati, after such a time of uncertainty?
Yes, I think so.; Troy has given us the opportunity to think that not only Carl can win on our bike and we are happy because if and when Carl comes back then next year we will have two winning riders.
Some people may say that you had two winning riders with Fogarty and Troy Corser. How much of the team decision making is down to you and how much is made at Ducati itself?
For team riders there is a meeting, Ducati Corse headed by Claudio Domenicali, with me from the sports department and Paolo Ciabatti from the marketing department, we discuss everything and then we make our proposals to Massimo Bordi and Federico Minoli at Ducati Moto. Normally it is Ducati Moto paying for Ducati Corse so the last word may not be ours. With Troy Corser, we all had our individual thoughts and the decision was made.
Did you want Troy to stay?
I can not tell you.
Do you feel gutted when you see him riding the Aprilia so well, even winning at Phillip Island?
I feel that we made a mistake maybe. Because I don’t think that what we decided at the time was so bad, we were trusting Ben Bostrom and for some reason he wasn’t able to give us the results that we wanted. But the main problem is our fault trusting that nothing would happen to Carl because he is like God. But even our God can have a problem.
What about the decision to sign Bostrom over Gobert?
Well at the end of last season Anthony was very unprofessional. He gave us stupid answers about why he wouldn’t go to the last race, he said he was injured, but then without telling his team, one week later he was in South Africa with Muz in GPs. We took him from the shit where Suzuki put him, and gave him a chance for two years, even after the drug problem he had with us we gave him another year, then he did this stupid thing. How can we trust this guy again?
Tell me about Luca Cadalora – there were a lot of rumours about big paycheques!
I know about the money that you are talking about, I saw it in some newspapers but it is absolutely not true. Basically he would have got a lot of money if he won, but not just to race. He came in saying he could win so we offered a lot of money if he did, but he didn’t.
Carl has sited you as his friend and mentor over the last few years, so at Phillip Island when the crash happened, what were your first thoughts?The first thing was to take care of Michaela, there was someone there taking care of Carl better than I could do. I ran immediately to the control tower and I was worried because he was not moving, then they told me that he was alive so I ran back to Michaela to tell her and to console her.
From that moment, it seemed as though the Ducati team just fell apart.
Yes, Carl is something that you feel vibrating within the team. When Carl is here even if he’s not in the pit box, you can feel his presence. With Carl, we are top and we are the best. His mentality is fixed within the entire team: we race only to win.
What do you put your understanding relationship with Carl down to?
In the beginning, he had to trust me and this comes day by day, week by week, you know it doesn’t happen overnight. It is still growing and our relationship gets closer. Carl is not such an easy guy! You have to understand his mentality and realise what he wants, sometimes before he knows himself. He appreciates things that others don’t. We have something like a skin connection, I know his mind, and it’s difficult to describe. Once he told me some things that I still keep in the heart, but he’s not normally like that! I think Michaela helps the relationship too, I am in contact with her and in the end, Carl has good luck in his life and that is Michaela. There are no top riders without top girls. She may only speak twice a year, but she speaks straight to his face and he knows she is right. I think she is the perfect woman!
Will he come back?
I think he will come back at the end of the year and if he can win races he will ride. If for some reason – I don’t think so and I don’t hope so – he is fucked up from these stupid fucking injuries I don’t think so. If he can not win, he is not the kind of guy to collect money for one more year without the results he wants. He only wants to win. Money does not satisfy him, he has not told me this but I know it. It is the winning he needs.
There must have been an incredible amount of pressure on you this year, with the entire goings-on within the team. How do you manage to relax?
I don’t! We are a team and the people around me share all the shit that happens, the wins, everything. All the guys help me a lot and that means also that the pressure is spread out.
Do you eat, sleep and breathe Ducati?
Yes, I am always with Ducati, from one race to the factory, then another...
Are you married?
Yes.
How does that work then?
They have a nice picture of me at home! It is a problem but they know this is my life. This is a tough year but I am dedicated to winning and I am a bit like Carl. I love to win. I work 34 not 24 hours a day to win and my guys have to do the same. We all have holidays and do stupid stuff together, go kart racing to relax and I arrange fun things but when it is time to work, we have to win, I don’t care about anything else we have to win. I know some people think I am a piece of shit but in the end I don’t care because I only want to win. I hear sometimes about certain riders, “oh, he’s so nice!” But that means either he is stupid or slow! Troy Bayliss must be something special because he seems nice and he’s quick!
But you look after your team so you must be nice sometimes!
Yes, I want to tell you something. I think my guys love me. They are sure that I take care of them. Even when I’m pissed off and I’m shouting they know that I am right – I hope. They know I’m trying to get the best for everyone, no matter what it is, we must have the best. We are all motivated to work hard, the more work I share the less I have to do. Delegation!
For you, what has been the best moment within the last ten years?
Absolutely the five minutes after Carl took off his helmet in Sugo 1998. Fantastic moment. After the disaster of Nurburgring, twice in 13th place and he wanted to quit. Then in World Ducati Weekend, we talked, Michaela helped a lot and he had to start all over again. From there because he is a Champion, he won the Championship.
Now Carl is incredibly competitive and so are you, what is the outcome if you play something like golf together?
We don’t do it! Never, I don’t want to lose and neither does he!
About Ben Bostrom...
So tell us about the decision to switch Borja for Bostrom.
We found out that he is not so determined on the bike, he needs to put his balls on the bike! His best race of the year has been here in Hockenheim, so this is a wake up call and he must not waste his chance.
How do you tell someone that they have to make this change as a team manager?
Well it’s a shit job but someone has to do it. The decision was made so I had to talk with him. My personal relationship with Ben is still good, he is still under our contract and has the opportunity to show us something. Perhaps this shock is the right thing, I don’t know. He was pretty demoralised. He has put himself under enormous pressure, especially after the first test in Valencia. He was very close to Carl and he thought he could maybe win the Championship, then he started to crash because he felt he had to do so well. I would say slow down, you have time, no problem. Also maybe he has some personal problems and his communication is zero. I told him whatever you want, I’m here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, tell me, but he doesn’t seem to trust anyone so I don’t know if something has happened in his life to make him this way.