Following a spectacular crash by star rider Fabio Di Giannantonio on the opening day of the Sepang test, VR46 team manager Uccio Salucci has spoken out in defence of his rider, while also taking aim at tyre management in MotoGP.
After the fall of Fabio DiGiannantonio on the first day of testing at Sepang, Uccio Salucci, the man of the VR46, spoke out to defend his rider while expressing his dissatisfaction with tire management in MotoGP. By Giannantonio, who will be out of the next tests at Buriram due to his injury, has fractured collarbone after having attempted a wheelie between turns 4 and 5. Salucci explained the circumstances of the accident, while stressing that this type of behavior is common among pilots: " Drivers are born into wheeling. Unfortunately, today's MotoGP doesn't allow you these little distractions.. I don't want a rider apologizing to me for doing a wheelie. Riders should have fun. ».
He said that the fall of By Giannantonio was due to a difference in speed between the front and rear of the motorcycle, which caused the front wheel to unexpectedly close upon impact. Although a broken collarbone is a serious injury, Salucci put into perspective in relation to the more serious fracture that Di Giannantonio had suffered the previous year, stressing that this new injury was not as serious.
« It's a more common injury for a motorcycle rider. His fracture of the collarbone is not comparable to last year's injury when his humerus was broken ", he added. He recalled that pilots like Marco Bezzecchi had quickly returned to competition after a similar fracture and was optimistic about his rider's speedy recovery.
Uccio Salucci: “ The team is therefore forced to run the driver with non-functional tires and even push them to the limit »
However, Salucci did not hesitate to express his dissatisfaction with the tyre management in MotoGP. He criticised the lack of available tyres and their poor suitability to track conditions: " we can't have few tires with only a few that work. » He also spoke about the absurdity of the situation, pointing out that drivers were being forced to run with tires that were not working properly, thus endangering the safety and performance of the teams: " A test like this costs around €350, and we risk not rolling »
For him, it is imperative that the situation changes in order to allow more productive and secure testing. Not only does it bring us few tires but it also brings us medium tires that are useless here. The team is therefore forced to run the driver with non-functional tires and even push them to the limit. » he mentions on GP One.
Salucci concluded by stressing that current conditions do not allow for optimal testing, which is detrimental to the preparation of teams and drivers for the season MotoGP.
