The colors of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducatis remained one of the few unknowns of the 2022 MotoGP season. In fact, Valentino Rossi’s is the only team that has not yet made its official presentation and we will still have to wait more than a week, on 24 February to be precise.
To be a newcomer to the premier class grid, however, she did not do badly at all in the pre-season, with Luca Marini who was even able to set the best time on the second day of the Mandalika tests, with a 1’31 “289 which allowed him to close the three days in Indonesia even in third place in the cumulative classification. The rider from Tavullia, who is preparing to face his second season in MotoGP, has therefore drawn a positive balance of the whole Asian tour (first there were two days of testing also in Malaysia).
“I had good driving sensations in these first days of testing, I had a lot of fun and the work with the team was excellent. Surely the first days in Malaysia were more difficult, because we had a lot of problems, but I must say that already from Indonesia we settled down and I started having fun riding the bike “, said Marini.
“On the flying lap it seems to me that I have good potential this year, then we will see during the races how we will be, because during the tests the track tires a lot and everything is a bit easier. On the race simulation I am quite satisfied with the potential and of the things that I have understood, even if we still have to put ourselves a little in the place of electronics, because it is the aspect on which we can do something more “.
Luca did not hide the fact that he would like to have another test available, but he understands that by now we are moving in a direction in which we will race more and more and there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to work outside the race weekends.
“However, we have made some excellent steps forward in these days of testing and I would like to be able to do more before the start of the World Championship: there are more and more races and fewer and fewer tests, but the other riders seem to be doing well. It’s just me. and Bagnaia that we always push to do more, but they don’t listen to us (laughs) “.
Pecco Bagnaia, who being the reigning vice-champion of the world is a bit of a reference at Ducati, is convinced that for now only about 85% of the potential of the GP22 has been discovered. Marini seems to agree with his team leader.
“He certainly participated in the new project and development, so I think it’s right to listen to him. He knows the differences between the GP21 and the GP22, plus he knows very well what it takes to win a MotoGP race. I’m sure he’s leading them in the right direction. to then be able to exploit the potential of the bike after the first races “.
“Obviously we hope to be 100% in Qatar already, but more or less I seem to agree with what Pecco says even when I talk to him. The new engine probably needs some electronics, but I always try to to give my feedback and to stay very focused while riding to help both my team and Ducati. We hope to be able to develop the bike in the best possible way so that it can remain the best on the grid like last year “, he concluded.
Luca Marini, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Bezzecchi: “I don’t know what to expect from Qatar”
Also on the other side of the garage there seems to be satisfaction, with rookie Marco Bezzecchi who had the opportunity to face his first race simulation riding a MotoGP. Not an easy experience, especially as regards the management of the decline in rubber, but it will certainly be useful when in just over two weeks we start to get serious in Qatar.
“The simulation went well and in any case it was tough, because it was very hot. I did it with Luca and I started in front. I did 16 laps in front, but he had a bit of a gap and I had to come to I am satisfied above all with the first part of the race, because in the second part, when he passed me, I struggled a bit more due to the heat that came from his bike. But I went fairly fast: I must definitely improve some things, but I can’t even complain too much “, said Bezzecchi, who with his 20th time in the cumulative was the fastest among the rookies in Mandalika.
Managing the tire when it started experiencing the drop was one of the most critical aspects: “It was quite difficult when there was a real drop in the tire, because I had never tried it before, even if a little. I was expecting it thanks to the information that the Michelin guys had given me. I didn’t know how to manage the tire at this stage, so it was all a first experience, but it didn’t go badly. “
“The rubber tends to spin a little more and you have to go after it with the electronics. In these days, however, we had worked well on that front and we had prepared some maps that went fairly well. The race simulation served us above all to understand which ones these are the aspects we need to work on the most, “he added.
Now that the winter tests have concluded, the focus shifts to the first race, in just over two weeks in Qatar. It is useless to deny that the emotion will be there, even if Bezzecchi will do everything possible to be ready.
“I’m not sure what to expect from Qatar, I just hope to continue to grow and to go well like in the tests. It will certainly be a bit more difficult, because on the race weekends there is less time to lap and this is something that I want to do. But the first race had to come sooner or later, so I’m very happy and can’t wait. It will be cool to line up on the grid with all the MotoGP guys and it will be a great adrenaline rush. I don’t know if I’m ready yet, but I will have to be and start adapting to the pressure of MotoGP “, he concluded.
Marco Bezzecchi, Team VR46
Photo by: MotoGP
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