Luca Marini started this Misano Grand Prix from the first row of the starting grid, which constituted his greatest feat in his current rookie season in MotoGP. Not bad, but it only took a few turns for him to find himself caught up in the peloton. From there, he experienced his recurring problem of overheating the front tire but since he had started from the top of the table, he was able to achieve his objective which was the top 10 with a ninth place just ahead of his illustrious half-brother who he honored with a yellow GP19. However, during this time, his teammate Bastianini had climbed from the bottom of the standings to third position…
By the way, at Avintia, whatever happens, we will have known how to bow out with class. The structure will give way to the colors VR46 and in 2022 Misano will have been a highlight of his final MotoGP campaign. Thus, its pilot bastianini will have brought back two podiums and his teammate Marini a first row at the end of qualifying.
But let's go back to Luca marini. He failed to convert his third position on the grid at Misano into a race result close to a podium won by his teammate bastianini left from the group remaining in Q1. The Avintia Ducati rider nevertheless drew positive conclusions and took advantage of the moving farewell scenes that the local audience performed in honor of his elder brother Valentino Rossi.
La Ducati was decorated with a special yellow paint with the inscription "Grazie Vale". The VR46 riders honored mentor Valentino with an ostentatious “Vale Yellow” Rossi, who contested his final MotoGP race at home in Misano. “ I was proud to put yellow paint first. In the race I tried to honor Valentino with a good result said Marini, Vale's younger half-brother.
But already after the start, the Italian had difficulty maintaining the pace of the leading drivers and fell back to 7th position. After 27 rounds, Marini crossed the finish line in ninth place and thus secured a place in front Red : " I learned some interesting things while racing ", declared the pilot of 24 years. “ I was able to acquire a lot of knowledge, especially on the start and the first turns, which are very important. I also understood that the other drivers approached the race like me. They all start very strong and aggressively. In the middle of the race, they manage their tires for around ten laps and try to reduce the gap with the people in front of them. It was a positive race, although I'm not entirely satisfied with the result. Our goal was top 10, we achieved it ».
Luca Marini: “ seeing this support for Vale was awesome«
More Marini also underlined: “ I had the same problems as in the other races. The only difference is that I moved forward. Above all, I had to fight with the front tire again. When I ride in the wake, the temperature in the tire increases sharply. The air temperature was relatively low, but I felt the difference. I then tried to ride less in the slipstream, which made me lose time on the straight ».
In the final round, the Italian was celebrated by the local fans and experienced unforgettable scenes: “ after the checkered flag, it was very emotional. The fans in the stands were incredible, everything was yellow. Seeing this support for Vale was awesome »
MotoGP Misano-2 J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
