Luca Marini was the protagonist of a Saturday to be framed in Austin, where in qualifying he first made the transition to Q2 and then earned a ninth position on the starting grid which represents an absolutely significant result. Marini made the most of the Misano tests to work on many aspects of the set-up of his Ducati and also to find the correct ergonomics on the saddle, a very hot topic in modern MotoGP where it is necessary to be perfectly at ease in the saddle in order to exploit the potential of the bikes to the maximum.
Davide Tardozzi has spent beautiful words for Luca today, convinced that he has a crystalline talent in his hands that expresses itself in a different way perhaps to the pure explosiveness of Jorge Martìn or to the agonistic wickedness of Bastianini. Marini is a hard working driver, analyzes the data, takes steps forward and then manages to make those improvements continuous and not the result of isolated episodes.
“I heard Tardozzi’s words and I was happy. In my opinion our bike is scary – said Marini – even if it’s from 2019 and maybe it’s a bit behind, if you can give something more you can fill that gap. We must remember that it is the rider who drives the bike and I think that we can do great things with ours. Support from Ducati has never lacked. There have been some difficult moments, but I think it’s been a positive season. I have tried to learn many things, and this is more important than doing some exaggerated results without knowing how to repeat it. I want to proceed like this, it has always been my working method and in the past it has helped me. This year it was all new, both me and the mechanics had to learn a lot and we all made mistakes. But we are working to finish the season in the best possible way, giving our best in every round and we are doing quite well. ”
Did you expect such a qualification in Austin?
“I think the weekend started in the best way. In Misano I did a great job in the tests regarding the ergonomics and the setup on the bike. I was able to concentrate only on my riding and on the tires. This morning I did a few small mistake, but in FP4 I felt good and then in qualifying I really did two laps that I didn’t expect and I’m proud of what we got today. Tomorrow I hope to choose the correct tire for the race “.
Do you think you have finally shown your potential in MotoGP today?
“I don’t think I have shown my potential yet, I will do it in the future when everything is at the top and I can think about winning. Every rider in MotoGP, if he has the chance to do so, must be able to win. We are about 20 pilots, the best in the world and if we are here there is a reason. By working well with the team next season we will be able to take further steps forward to show my and our potential. ”
You found yourself in qualifying behind Pecco. Have you studied it?
“I was a bit too far away to be able to see Pecco carefully. He does some incredible braking, that’s the moment when the time is right. I’m working on the bike to do the same and I’m sure I can detach like him if we find the right one. compromise on the bike.He makes the body work a lot in the saddle and now I’m trying to do the same both in braking and riding. I saw that he makes a difference in T2, then at turn 10 on the holes it seems to me that he closes his eyes and keeps the gas open. Even at 11 it makes an impression. I haven’t seen the data yet, but we’ll do it later to figure out other things. In the tests I was able to study the data very well, I worked a lot because there you can do a lot of laps and you can do things like concentrate on the details, which on the race weekends are a bit on the sidelines. For me, however, it is precisely these details that make a big difference “.
You were fast today, while Aragon and Misano were very tough. Why?
“I expected to be slow in Misano and Aragon, because every time I rode there I was always very slow there. Then my feelings on the bike were not positive enough to do something good, but from the first laps I knew it would be It was tough there, last year we had my bike perfectly set up at Misano, so I could do whatever I wanted with it, but it was really perfect. This year I’m not in this situation, but in the next few years we can get there with Ducati. The bike is fantastic, it works very well here. I have to try to use all his power to improve lap times. On some tracks I manage to be faster, such as at Portiamo. Instead, on the tracks that everyone knows very well, I don’t have too much room to work on, because it’s just a matter of finding the best grip and setting the time. ”
The holes are many and already for a lap they seem to be able to put in difficulty. But what will happen in the race tomorrow?
“I assure you that being in the saddle is even worse. Nobody can understand it, you should try the bike on the track. It is in terrible conditions, but we are here and it is the same for everyone. We will go slower and there will be more difference than the time we could hold in different conditions. I don’t think anyone can struggle with the track for the whole race, yesterday someone also asked to reduce the laps in the Safety Commission. I think it can be dangerous, even in Moto3 where four of them arrive together in corners at some points. Let’s hope everything goes smoothly this weekend, then we’ll think about next year. I know that Ezpeleta is talking very hard with the organizers to make some changes to the track, because then it’s really hard to race. ”
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