This was definitely the toughest trip from a physical point of view. “Take a sweatshirt with you as it gets cool in the evening”, my daughter told me the day before I left…well, the temperature stayed between 35 and 45 degrees throughout our stay. In a country which is not used to such high temperatures and air conditioning is still a mystery, the bungalows, clearly designed more for winter than for summer, gave us a few sleepless nights.
We left Assen confident that Casey O’Gorman has big potential. With a bit of luck, which is almost a requirement in this sport, he has a promising road ahead of him. Both in Brno and in Assen he was very fast, setting the fastest lap and the second fastest lap the Sunday before. Unfortunately, the race in Czech Republic had a bitter ending, after an amazing comeback, he managed to catch the leading group, but wasted it all in the end. He just lacked a bit of tactical awareness and patience. In the Netherlands, however, he finished 10th after a solid performance. In the last laps, the heat, the fatigue, the sleepless nights spent counting sheep and the fact that he had only left hospital the previous Monday …he eventually paid the price for all of it. “He cooked the beans” as Aligi Deganello would say, but overall, I think he did more than enough.
Leo, meanwhile, continues his learning process in a championship that gives no discounts to anyone. Every race he takes another step forward, improves something and grows a little more. And I want to point it out, because we sometimes forget: this is a World Championship. Here, even the rider at the back of the grid is fast.
Finally, there was a satisfaction that went beyond the track, we found it up there, in the grandstands, in the commercial area, far from the VIP environment and from spotlight, but close to what really matters: the Foundation’s booth and everything it represents. I knew Marco was still in the hearts of many people in the Netherlands, but seeing it sold-out 15 years later still leaves me speechless. In Assen, his name still hangs somewhere, like the stickers in the garages that no one would ever think to remove, like the verses of poems we learnt at school and that you never forget, like the notes of Gianna Nannini the night we won the World Championship.
His rivals have retired and hung up their helmets, their supporters have grown up, a new generation has arrived, kids who never had the chance to see Marco race with their own eyes. Some know him only through their fathers’ stories or a video on the internet…Yet his smile continues to draw people in, evoke emotions and bring back memories. Some carrying a t-shirt, some with a smile, some with a kind word, but all with the desire to take home a little piece of him. Fifteen years. It’s an incredible reaction, it gives value to everything we are doing and make us even prouder. Because it’s not just about reminding Marco. It’s about realizing that, a guy like him, always magnetic, even today, without making noise, can still bring together people, smiles and acts of generosity.
So, it’s impossible not to stop for a moment and ask ourselves: how much has this guy left us?
-PaoloSic58-