Andrea Migno and Celestino Vietti take the victories in the small classes at the season opener in Qatar – Luca Marini finishes in the points in the MotoGP race
For the junior academy and the MotoGP team of motorbike legend Valentino Rossi, the season opener in Qatar was a successful weekend. VR46 protégé Andrea Migno prevailed in the Moto3 race. In the Moto2 race, Celestino Vietti took his first win in the intermediate category with the VR46 team. And in the MotoGP race Luca Marini gave the new VR46 team its first points in team history.
Luca Marini is especially happy about the victories of his VR46 colleagues: “I have to congratulate Migno and Celestino. They drove great races. Migno rode excellently, just as he had imagined. You also have to congratulate his team because they provided him with probably the fastest bike. In Moto3 that is the most important thing along with the feeling under braking. They have done a very good job.”
“I’m happy for Migno because he made a lot of sacrifices,” Luca Marini notes, reporting, “He refrained from eating anything to keep the weight down. He went running every day. He fought very hard to bring in this result. “
Luca Marini expects significant improvement in the upcoming races
Marini himself finished the MotoGP race in 13th position, collecting three points towards the championship. “The most important thing is that I found back the feeling for the bike in the race. Now I need some more time to work better because the weekend itself was a disaster,” explained Valentino Rossi’s half-brother.
“It was probably the worst weekend of my career,” commented Marini, who failed to perform well in practice and qualifying. “On Friday and also on Saturday nothing worked at all. I had a strange feeling for the bike. It was very difficult for me to turn into the corners. On Sunday we understood the problem. “
“I couldn’t expect anything from this race. I just wanted to finish it to be able to analyse the situation,” explained the Italian, who has his sights set on the rest of the season.
“If everything goes together, then we can be in the mix. The other riders are very fast, but so are we. I am stronger than last year, much stronger,” said Marini.
Marco Bezzecchi best rookie by far at the time of the crash
Team-mate Marco Bezzecchi was among the crash victims in Qatar. The Italian retired after six laps. Until then Bezzecchi showed a very strong race. In 13th place, the VR46 rider was by far the best rookie.
“It wasn’t the result I wanted,” commented Bezzecchi. “But when I look at the weekend as a whole, I can’t complain. I made a big step forward. “
“Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in the race due to my lack of experience. I was very close to Nakagami and had to brake. I pulled the brake lever up to my finger and couldn’t decelerate well. That’s when the front wheel collapsed,” he explains of the crash on lap seven.
Bezzecchi is also happy about the success of his VR46 colleagues: “Migno and Celestino rode really well and I’m happy for them because they deserved the wins. Migno finally achieved what he deserved so many times last year. Celestino’s race was impressive. He knew he could win. That was incredible. “
