Paolo’s Blog

MISANO GP 09/9/18

Home Grand Prix. A team, our team, and a place, the “Marco Simoncelli World Circuit”, there’s everything just in one name, and we’re feeling home.
Also the GP eve was sweet and particular: it doesn’t happen everyday to meet Pope Francesco. FIM, Coni and Dorna organized an outdoor trip which I joined with pleasure; hugging the Pope was intense and full of emotions even for a person like me, who has some reserves in God and his laws.
But let’s go back to the paddock. I have to admit that despite all the difficulties we had to face up, on Sunday evening I was serene and satisfied about how we managed all our guests who came to touch with their own hands our reality. I hope everyone was happy, no one complained yet.
About the agonistic part, we ruined the possibility of a great race during the qualifying session, not taking advantage of the last five minutes; we ended up in 5th and 6th raw. It is necessary to be more bold, pragmatic, awake and to be able to catch the moment. A bad qualifying compromises the race, the first ten laps everyone is in an hurry and if you lost the first train it is difficult to rejoin the group.
I was surprised by Montella who was competing for the first time in the world championship. He’s been riding with us for the last four years and this was a reward for him. In the qualifying he did quite well, he understood how harder it is here and the differences with the CEV. Watching all in all it was a good result, well done Yari!
Misano is not the favorite GP for Niccolò and we have to add the pressure of friends, family… he’s not at his top but I saw a different Antonelli this weekend, who is changing from Silverstone, persistently, who closed in P10.
With Tatsuki we’re doing a work of precision which requires patience; he needs to understand he must be more aggressive, he crashed for a stupid mistake but those are races.
We weren’t protagonists and if we want this to happen they must take out the hunger for victory, that wish which brought them competing with the best riders in the world.
What makes me angry is that they have the luck to work with their passion, thousands of guys would love to be in their shoes; when you gain this type of target you can’t quit.
The love for an extreme sport is just for few. To ride at 300 km/h you must have something different from the rest of the world besides being unconscious. Being a rider is a work just for few and now they have to demonstrate they are one of those.

-PaoloSic58-