Luca Marini’s first season as a MotoGP rider ends in Valencia, who gained experience in the premier class of the world in 2021, working to improve for next season. 2022 will be an important year for the Pesaro rider, who will have a technical step on his Ducati and will aim to do well, in light of what the Desmosedici has shone this year.
However, next year will be totally different for Marini, who will no longer find his brother on the track. In fact, in 2021 he shared the asphalt and the races with Valentino Rossi, but Sunday’s Valencia Grand Prix marked the Doctor’s farewell, the end of an era. However, the younger ‘little brother’ will keep fond memories of this debut, taking into consideration the fact that despite the large age difference they managed to run together for at least a year, which he did not expect when he started.
Sunday’s results almost take a back seat on a day of celebration like the one experienced in Valencia. Marini is his brother, but also one of the guys from Valentino Rossi’s Academy, and he talks about the emotions he felt on this historic day: “After the race I was in the garage with Vale and everyone was very excited. For me too it was a very different day in this sense. Even when we return home there will be plenty of time to talk about this year and to share the emotions on the track. There is little to say, when you have to choose who was the best in this sport, I would say that he was the best in history ”.
“There is little to say about the track – he continues talking about Valentino – it has achieved impressive results, it has made this sport grow globally, it has made this world known to many new people who are passionate about it. Thanks to his personality, his way of running, his results, he has left an indelible mark that unfortunately, perhaps, it will never be able to be replicated, because it will be difficult in the future to leave such an important mark. As a brother, I didn’t want to go too far, but it makes me laugh. I like talking to him about motorcycles, because he really has a great passion. He is a kind, nice person, always sunny. So that’s a side that I like. He is a brother and a friend in the end ”.
Marini is one of several young riders who are growing with the teachings of Valentino Rossi and the emotion was incredible for everyone. With great happiness, Luca reflects on the good fortune of having shared the track with his brother, even if only for a year: “I saw that the other guys were also very excited, happy, someone cried. It was certainly a strange, very special moment. Even on the grid, seeing so many people all around Vale’s starting grid was incredible. At that moment there were so many emotions that went through my head. It was a nice weekend in my opinion, everything went the right way, a worthy conclusion to this page of history, to his career. We are all proud of him, it was nice to share these years together on the track and this season in MotoGP. Among other things, an unexpected season, because I would never have thought that he would continue so long and I would arrive so quickly in MotoGP, in the end it was nice to spend a season on the track fighting together ”.
The Academy has chosen to pay homage to its mentor by competing in their respective races with the most iconic helmets of the Doctor’s career. Marini chose the one for 2008-2009, the years of the last two world championships, and explains the reason: “I chose the graphics of that helmet there because it is one of those that I have always liked most of all, it has a truly beautiful design. , almost all with the brush. It’s really amazing, I liked it, it was free and I went on that. They were also the years I have the most memories of, from when I was little, that I also lived the most inside his garage by going to the races, where he also had many epic battles. There are two or three of my favorite races between 2008 and 2009 ”.
Luca Marini, Esponsorama Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Even if the emotion was a lot, a look at the track cannot be missed. Marini was the author of an opaque race, as per his own admission: “The race was bad from the start, I had no rear grip and I struggled a lot from the start. During the weekend the main problem was the front, but then we made a change to the bike for the race and it went well. In fact, my feeling with the front has improved, but with the rear tire I wasn’t able to be as fast as in FP4, for example. I was a bit slower, I expected to be more competitive. This is not a good way to finish the season, but Valencia has always been a difficult track for me every year, so I will have to understand and change the driving style a bit ”.
However Maro he believes that in 2021 he laid the foundations for a much more solid 2022: “I will look at the data to understand where I need to improve, but I am also very happy and curious to try the new bike at Jerez. I am full of energy. At the end of a season, you are always tired and you want to disconnect a little. But honestly now I just want to get back on the bike and try the new one to start this new adventure as soon as possible. I think I will have Pecco’s bike, I’m very curious to try it on Thursday in the tests. It will clearly be a big change. I want to get great results next year and I hope the winter break will be as short as this season and I can’t wait to start 2022. I like the tests and now I need, have time to ride the bike, understand how ‘is 2021 will be very interesting. To talk about expectations, it’s still too early, I need to do some laps on the new bike, understand what my level is with a similar technical package. So I’d wait a little longer before talking about next year. I want to try to fight for the important positions, just that, then let’s see how they will be. There are many important positions in MotoGP, not just the top three
“I would not say that it was a complicated year, but certainly with several pitfalls – he continues – I started a long way away, without having done the tests in November I feel I started far behind the others and it was very difficult to leave directly from Qatar. . The first few races served as a test to try to understand my position on the bike, which I worked on throughout the season. But if I look at where I started from, I am happy with where I am now, I feel much improved as a rider and as a person. In my opinion in the end it is still a positive season, I did not expect to obtain better results, because in any case I know myself and I knew the situation I was in. I knew it would be hard to aim high and I tried to gather as much experience as possible, finish the races and in the end now I think I have a good knowledge of MotoGP, which I didn’t expect to be so different from Moto2. It took a while, but now I feel much better ”.
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