A shrimp weekend, this is Luca Marini’s balance sheet if we look at the times table. The Grand Prix of Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna did not reward the rookie of the Sky Racing Avintia team, who started from the front row but crossed the line only in ninth position. It was certainly not a result that rewarded the efforts of the rookie, who in the home race was also beaten by his teammate.
The ninth place finish certainly makes Luca Marini turn up his nose, but he looks at the glass as half full and takes the Misano weekend as a new experience that helped him learn: “In the race I learned something interesting, especially as far as it concerns the start and the first corner. I also realized that all riders, even the strongest, have more or less an identical approach to the race. Everyone starts aggressively and after about ten laps there is a phase in which everyone gets into tire management. Of course, if I look at the result I can’t be very happy, but overall it was a positive race, the goal was to get to the top 10. The weekend I have to say that it went well, I went strong almost every day “.
In fact, the race was the only moment in which the MotoGP took to the track in total dry conditions. In fact, until the warm up the track was humid, a situation that exalts Marini, who in fact was the author of remarkable performances in treacherous conditions. However, the dry Sunday did not prove to be an ally of Rossi’s young brother, who paid a ninth position that not only does not reward him, but leads him to a confrontation with a more than sparkling teammate.
In fact, at Misano, Enea Bastianini proved to be in excellent shape and able to recover from 16th position up to the third step of the podium, an inverted situation compared to his neighbor in the box. The comparison is inevitable and Marini explains: “I expected Enea to be fast, he has already made a podium here with a fantastic race pace. I’ve been missing a few things compared to him, certainly not just one. If that were the case it would be too easy. There are a few situations that he can handle very well. Not having worked in the dry, we didn’t progress only that he had already made the podium last time. I think he had something more already from the last race at Misano, then with a couple of crashes we all found ourselves further ahead ”.
“I know which aspects I need to improve – he continues – In these two weeks that separate us from Portimao I will have to take a step forward, even if surely the time will not be enough to improve 100%. We never tested in dry conditions this weekend and the set-up of the bikes was more or less the same as last time. During the race I tried to push but I couldn’t be as fast as he was. I continue to have problems with the front wheel in the dry, mostly in high temperatures. In the race it was quite cold but looking behind other riders I find the same problems. It is difficult to manage this situation. Today I tried to put a medium tire up front but I didn’t like it, it was too cold to ride a hard one ”.
The second race at Misano was emotional from many points of view and one of these is Valentino Rossi’s farewell to his audience. The older brother and now a symbol of MotoGP, has already made a hypothesis of who could be in the top positions next year and in the first two virtual rows he has included Luca Marini. 2022 will also represent a change within Ducati, with the arrival of official bikes for Maro himself, while Bastianini will continue to use an outdated Desmosedici. Anyway, the ‘art brother’ rookie reflects on the hypothesis that Valentino can follow him step by step from next season: “I’m not sure Enea won’t have it. The question about Vale would be for him, it would be nice to have him inside next year. As for the grid, he was optimistic, he forgot the Suzuki and the other Ducatis, which were scary this year. In my opinion the list of those who can play on the podium is wider than he says and I don’t think I can be as advanced as he says. Of course, as a speed, I’m certainly part of that list ”.
Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SR, Luca Marini, Esponsorama Racing
Photo by: MotoGP
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