Paolo Simoncelli looked back on the creation of his team, first in CIV and CEV then in the Moto3 World Championship.
Next October, it will be nine years since Marco Simoncelli tragically left us at the Sepang circuit. And for several years now, his memory has been honored by his loved ones via the Foundation created in his honor, and in particular by his father who also founded a team bearing his name: Sic 58 Squadra Corse. Its colors and number have been adopted to continue to bring it to life in another way in the paddock.
And today, with three podiums including two victories as well as six pole positions won by its drivers, Paolo Simoncelli is rewarded for all the work put in, even if it is only the beginning. For his sponsor Dell'Orto, he came back in a video interview on all the moments that shaped his journey as a team boss.
“The Sic58 team was created not to die… These are strong, harsh words, but that’s how it is. When things happen that are a real injustice, you risk dying, you risk destroying your family, you risk destroying yourself.", did he declare. “And I have to say that in the end I was lucky, because Aldo Drudi pushed me a lot and it happened like that. We left with two 125cc Hondas, two young people of 12 or 13 years old, it was nice. And then the second year we progressed, then we went to four drivers, then five and then we left the CIV to arrive in the Spanish Championship [CEV, editor's note]. We realized how different the level is from the Italian Championship. »
“It’s something you can’t do alone because, it’s ugly to say, but you need money”, He said. “Without money, you can’t do this job. So we needed passionate people to give us a helping hand. And then we arrived in the World Championship, which represented an important milestone. It was an important milestone because we knew very well that people thought “Simoncelli is in the World Championship because he lost his son, because… because”. It was something that really stimulated me because I wanted to show that we had reached the world level because we knew how to do our job. So we did everything with the maximum of our strength. »
“I have to say that I was lucky because I met two exceptional guys: Fabio Balducci for the CIV and CEV, and Marco Grana, one of the strongest technicians in our sector, in the World Cup. I remember what he said to me when we met in a hotel in Bologna: “you take care of the money and I take care of everything else” (smile) and I must say that He kept his promise, everything is going well. »
“So we arrived in the World Championship with a young driver who had been with me for [a while]: Tony Arbolino. And alongside him came Tatsuki Suzuki, who had been in the World Cup for two years but whom no one knew. And then when Arbolino left, Antonelli arrived. »
And now, the Suzuki/Antonelli pairing seems to be gaining momentum to bring ever better results to Simoncelli, who hopes to see them definitively establish themselves at the front.
