Back in 2007 and 2008, Pierfrancesco Chili was LA7’s network World Superbike technical commentator, but the following year he was dropped from the sports programme, without any explanations of sorts and replaced with the excellent Mauro Sanchini, a former WSBK rider and one of Valentino Rossi’s off track riding buddies.
Many believed that Chili was fired following a verbal altercation with Max Biaggi at the parc ferme after the Portimao round (video above) that saw the Roman Emporer who was riding for Ducati Sterilgarda at the time, get wiped out by Michel Fabrizio in race 1 and then win race 2, with Biaggi accusing Chili of being biased.
During a dinner at the Panathlon Club Bologna 1957 last night, and Chili confirmed the reason he was fired saying, “Biaggi? He’s the one that got me fired from TV, he’s a fake person and it was politics.
” Apparently the former GP and WSBK rider was referring to the fact that the arrival of someone of the caliber of Biaggi in Superbikes, helped Paolo and Maurizio Flammini, and keeping Biaggi happy was good for the championship and for TV ratings.
Chili was asked his opinion on other riders such as Troy Bayliss and he said “was a real good guy” and even his opinion on former arch-rival Carl Fogarty has mellowed and turned into “a lot of respect, once we cleared the air”.
And on Valentino Rossi he said, “Valentino was a great disappointment, I was expecting a competitive second year, instead he and Ducati never gelled.
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