The two drivers of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, had done well during the first two days of the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimão before experiencing a bitter Sunday...
Seeing a team as young as the one fielded this year in MotoGP by Valentino Rossi place its two riders in Q2 in conditions as difficult as those which characterized the tests at the Algarve autodrome was a promising performance for the men of Tavullia . At the end of the first three sessions, Marco Bezzecchi appeared in seventh position while Luca marini, he had to go through Q1, which he did successfully, before facing his eleven opponents in Q2.
Finally, Marco Bezzecchi thus found himself in sixth position on the starting grid, two places ahead of his teammate Luca marini, which overall constitutes an excellent result, both for the rookie, his team and his teammate, and was something to delight in Valentino Rossi who had made the trip to Portugal!
Unfortunately, things went wrong in the race, Luca Marini losing four places to cross the finish line in 12th position, Marco Bezzecchi snatching at the last minute the point for 15th place, 46 seconds behind the French winner fabio quartararo.
Luca Marini: « Overall a race that leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth, we finished in P12, but for the first time this season I had a very good feeling in the last laps and I was able to recover positions. It was a complicated Sunday, during the whole weekend we didn't ride in dry conditions and at the start I struggled to get into the rhythm. I had a bad start because I wasn't perfect with the clutch and a lot of riders took advantage of that.
Valentino Rossi has a good eye, he can see a lot of things, but he can't see all the details, even on the track. We also changed the bike's settings each time. The feeling during the race was good, I just need time. The grip was good, the tires worked well. But there was very little rubber on the track. At first I had trouble turning right turns. But lap after lap, I understood the bike better. The morning changes were good, so I enjoyed the last few laps.
In any case, there is something positive in this race that we must bring to Jerez next week and even more in the post-race test session.
Jerez de la Frontera is one of those circuits where we can understand exactly the values of this Championship. Notably, the gaps are still minimal there and I am curious to understand what our real potential may be in 2022, where the level is very high, and what will be the lap time we will need to reach Q2, which is our goal. We are also working hard to take a step forward on the pace of the race. »
Marco Bezzecchi: « A tough race, and we expected it as we had never ridden in dry conditions. In any case, we bring home a point, with a little luck, but we were hoping for a better pace. We must gain experience, because in these conditions we had no reference today. We need to analyze the data carefully and take a step forward in Jerez.
It's always a pleasure to return to Jerez de la Frontera, and it will also be a pleasure to return there with MotoGP. So far this is the only circuit where I have already ridden the Ducati before the GP and it will definitely come in handy. We have data, references, we can make the most of them to continue our progress. Let's hope that the weather will be favorable, because in Portimão we faced the race in conditions completely different from those of the practice sessions. »
Results of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
