Finally, I weekend that I’m happy to relive by telling it in these lines, an Austria that we’ve fully enjoyed.
Apart from the 105 degrees and the hotels that were as hard to find as face masks during the pandemic (places that in Romagna could never get a license to stay open), the beauty of the circuit nestled in the Styrian greenery and these achievements quickly made up for our inconveniences. One of our best weekends: 1 pole position, 2 podiums in MotoE and a great race of Riccardo Rossi in Moto3.
Let’s take it step by step, Zannoni woke up well and he put on some fantastic free practice sessions, confirming himself in the races. In Race1 he secured the 3° place, after an amazing race, his first podium, we are very, very satisfied. The same in Race2, where he battled for the 2nd place until the end. The winner of both races was our “favorite snack buddy” Mattia Casadei. Despite the rivalry, I still see him as my kid, a part of our family. He has grown with us, he visits us at home… he raced well and he deserved it!
Manfredi, on the other hand, was not as brilliant as usual, but the scorching asphalt didn’t help him. We know well that his expertise lies in wet conditions. He’s a rider who could aim to always be in the top five, however there are still aspects he needs to figure out when racing on dry tracks.
After such an exciting Saturday, we quickly get used to the podium… I expected an intense race from Rossi too, starting from the second row with the 6th fastest time, and… he didn’t disappoint me! He gave us a “never give up” race, finishing 6th in the midst of a bunch of KTMs and he was the only Honda in the top ten. Impressive!
Toba did his part without too much effort, he wasn’t entirely comfortable, but a bit imprecise and unstable. This year, the “moto market” started with extra excitementand the chase for Moto2 may have distracted him a bit, but he still ended up in the points zone.
Now we are getting ready for Barcelona, and then we’ll close out the summer with the chaotic San Marino Grand Prix which, even though it’s like one of Dante’s circles of hell for us, it remains our home GP, our Grand Prix of the heart. Then another “tour de force” will start. In the following months, we will be catapulted to India and in the heart of the Southeast of Asia.
–PaoloSic58-