After our interview with Lorenzo Fellon on his return from Texas, here is the press release from Paolo Simoncelli's SIC58 Squadra Corse team.
And if we see Austin's glass half full, if only by the first point scored, but not only that, the owner of the Italian team seems rather to see it half empty, declaring himself certainly satisfied at the end of the lips but also explaining that we are not far from the crisis...
We went from the humid heat of Indonesia to the scorching heat of Argentina and finally to the variable and crazy weather of Texas. Three difficult and tiring journeys, three completely different races in terms of climate and temperatures, and perhaps that is also why performance was a bit erratic, like the weather. These trips tested us, we asked ourselves a lot of questions and we had to face difficult times, which led to Saturday's near breakup…
I had forgotten how difficult it is to work with very young drivers, who are just starting out in the world championship, like Fellon who doesn't yet have a story or like Rossi who is trying to write one. I had forgotten that after so many years with Tatsuki and Antonelli, who are now mature Moto3 veterans. It's difficult to align the cards when the riders are so different. When you work with your son, you get to know him, he grows with you, you learn to work and manage the race weekend together, you automatically enter into a symbiosis. Here, on the other hand, you have to manage every year a boy you don't know, who already has his own habits and rhythms and you are a complete stranger to him.
With Riccardo Rossi we had weeks of ups and downs, an indecent race in Indonesia made him think and in Argentina he had an incredible race. He confessed to me the emotion of having finally thought “Here, I can get on the podium!” », a thought never touched upon until then. In Texas, a fall on Friday unfortunately caused him to deviate from his route and caused him two difficult days.
Fellon is developing, we are trying to resolve some of his driving issues, but when on Saturday he couldn't complete a timed lap in 15 minutes, it made me furious. For a world championship driver, it is unacceptable not to qualify. Waiting to take someone's draw, hesitating in the box and then losing the chance to make a time is crazy to me. On Saturday evening, I would have closed the doors and taken the first flight home, but after a briefing during which it only took a few words to make myself understood, I postponed any sensible decision until Sunday... where finally, for the very first time, I saw a calm Fellon on the grid, who was getting ready to do what he loves: racing. He finished 15th, earning his first championship point, and I'm happy with the race he managed. I'm also happy with Rossi's race, who started from 17th place and almost set the fastest lap time, taking 9th place. This also increased my anger because he could and should still be in the top 5 drivers.
And now, a break from the extra-European races, since we will stay closer to home, and we will go to Portimão. We have had some intense weeks, we have hit rock bottom and this must be the GP to restart in the best possible way, for both drivers and for all of us.
-PaoloSic58-
