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The home weekend for Andrea Dovizioso has not yet begun, but the Italian doesn't want to waste any time and has already secured his first win. It was the Ducati rider himself who triumphed in the “MotoGP Aqua Battle”, the official pre-event that saw various riders battle it out on jet-skis under the dark skies of Cattolica. The final, which involved a time trial, turned into an all-red derby with Dovi managing to beat team-mate Michele Pirro, who may hail from Puglia but actually lives locally, in Cesena.
“I had a lot of fun today – explained a smiling Dovi – and it's really great to see so many fans already on Wednesday at an prior to the weekend”. A weekend that threatens bad weather, with unstable conditions forecast from tomorrow until Sunday, but one that conjures up many wonderful memories for the championship leader. “I live close to the track and ran my very first race on big wheels right here, so it's a really important place for me. Our bike isn't completely comfortable at this track, so we need to be good in terms of managing the situation, as always”.
As we've said, the top two positions belonged to Ducati while the podium was rounded out (and celebrated in true Romagnolo style with life-jackets and sailors hats) by Romano Fenati, a watersports fan: “I really love them, and in general love both the sea and the mountains; I like to ski and I'd even be happy on a raft in the sea (he laughs)”. Making the most of his proximity to the sea, Romano wants to do well at his home GP. “I really like the track, and want to give all the Italian fans in attendance a great performance. The forecast gives rain but we hope that bad weather doesn't come and ruin our plans”.
As we await to see what the weather will bring, there was no shortage of fun down at the beach, as confirmed by Danilo Petrucci, despite him being left a little disappointed: “It was a fun idea – comments Petrux – even if we didn't have much time to test the jet-skis so those of us, like me, who'd never done it before were at something of a disadvantage. Aside from that, I can already feel the public's excitement and I'm really happy about that”.
A public that was able to appreciate Johann Zarco's famous backflip, but also the genuine friendliness of local heroes such as Andrea Migno, Niccolò Antonelli, Nicolò Bulega and Stefano Manzi, and also those adopted Romagnolo riders, like Pirro and Pecco Bagnaia. A very enjoyable day all in all, as we wait for things to get going in earnest at Misano.
PHOTOCREDITS FERMINO FRATERNALI
