MotoGP | NBA evening for the VR46 team, guest of the Houston Rockets

Sport meets sport: it happened in Houston, on the occasion of the American Grand Prix. The riders of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team, before donning helmets and overalls to take to the track, went onto the basketball court, guests of the Houston Rockets. The Texan team played the last match of the regular season at home against the Orlando Magic, inviting Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio as guests.

The two drivers, together with other team members, cheered for the Houston Rockets, becoming spectators of one of the must-see events in the United States. Basketball, which has always been a pillar of American culture, is a fixed event for many tourists, and for the VR46 team, invited by the Texas team, it was an evening in full “Stars and Stripes” style.

At the end of the match, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio exchanged shirts with the players, in a meet and greet that thrilled both the two drivers and the “giants” of basketball. BezFurthermore, he is a great basketball fan and it is not uncommon to see him attending matches of this sport in Italy, even when he is not busy on match weekends. Once the evening was over, it was time to return to Austin, where this weekend the VR46 duo will be competing in the third grand prix of the 2024 season.

“What a night! I really like basketball and it was really great to see the Houston players up close and experience the NBA atmosphere. I was also lucky enough to take the first pitch, I had been a bit anxious about it for days, it was a great feeling,” said Marco Bezzecchi, enthusiastic about the experience.

With the NBA match energized, rider #72 is ready to return to the track to continue working on adapting to the GP23, his new Ducati: “For the race, COTA is really a complicated, technical and demanding track at physical level. We have worked a lot for this GP in these two weeks at home and I can't wait to get back on track to get the first feedback on the field.”

It was also an exciting evening for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has fully entered the American style thanks to his NBA experience: “A great evening hosted by the Houston Rockets together with the whole team. What a truly incredible atmosphere and what a show. We arrived really excited and I can't wait to get back to work.”

Austin also awaits Diggia, who will want to redeem themselves from a Portuguese Grand Prix that did not go according to expectations. However, the Roman feels at ease with both the team and the bike and is ready to return to the track: “In Portimao, for the first time this season, also considering the pre-season, we perhaps found ourselves a little ' in difficulty. Let's go back to the data and close the gap.”