The summer temperatures surprised more than one this Saturday in Austin, the track where both qualifying and especially the MotoGP Sprint race were being played, which did not prevent Luca Marini from breaking out in a cold sweat. The VR46 driver hoped to take advantage of his very good third place on the starting grid to finally taste the joys of a victory, like his teammate Marco Bezzecchi two weeks earlier in Argentina. But the opportunity was missed. He knows the reasons, which will make him stronger this Sunday afternoon in Texas to win the Grand Prix of the Americas.
The Race Sprint de Luca Marini was sealed even before entering the first corner: “ I honestly don't know what happened at the start: I was too inside in the first corner compared to my usual line and there was a lot of dirt there, even considering that it's the first race of the weekend » comments the half-brother of Valentino Rossi before adding: “ the bike vibrated a lot, even the fork and front wheel are blocked. I braked hard to avoid a collision with Pecco and went wide, which made me lose a lot of positions, which is a real shame because for the first time in I had a good qualifying this year ».
Luca Marini: “ it's not true that we go faster in the straight with the Ducati »
But it's also good and fortunate that he was able to avoid the World Champion, already since he injured the other official Ducati rider in a fall in Portugal Enea Bastianini who has still not physically recovered from the shock received... The crew member Marco Bezzecchi, who started from a little further away and finished right in front of him, this race continues: “ I really enjoyed this Sprint. I fought a lot, and this is perhaps my MotoGP race with the most overtaking ».
In this regard, he would like to dispel this preconceived idea… “ I didn't overtake anyone in a straight line but I overtook when braking, so it's not true that our bike is faster than the others, it is rather very strong when braking, with a lot of support. So it's not true that we go faster in the straight line ».
He finishes : " the key for the long race will be the choice of front tire. With these temperatures it drops after 6/7 laps and I took a lot of risks not to lose the front. You have to put everything in place. Everything is not perfect for me yet, when I have everything in place I will be able to fight for victory ". That's all the bad we wish him.
MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas SPRINT results at Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
