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The coronavirus has now begun to infect Motorlandia… Since yesterday in fact the province of Rimini (as well as Pesaro-Urbino) has become part of the new and extended "red zone", with obvious consequences on the Italian motorcycle scene: just think that in these two provinces a number of Italian riders like Bagnaia, Rossi and Morbidelli are resident, as well as a variety of teams and structures such as VR46, the Ranch, the Misano World Circuit or the SIC58 racing team, which has already had to abandon the MotoE tests at Jerez.
As a result, the news is worthy of note, and the grey skies of the last 24 hours reflect the mood of the population. The half-empty streets are in themselves a clear sign that the situation is not normal, as well as the fact that, among those few who are ‘forced’ to leave the house for work reasons, the conversations always revolve around the doubts and concerns related to the virus .
For its part, two-wheeled Rimini shone under the artificial lights of Qatar thanks to Enea Bastianini, for whom (just like for all the Rimini guys like Migno, Bezzecchi, Manzi etc.) a return to Italy will coincide with isolation inside the province. The closure of centres such as gyms and swimming pools makes it difficult to even train, and the fact that the nearby province of Forlì-Cesena is not a "red zone" puts some situations on the verge of the incredible.
Just think of one example. One of the most popular tracks for Romagna riders to train on mini-motards is situated in San Mauro Mare, a small neighbouring town near Rimini but in the province of Forlì-Cesena, and therefore officially out of reach: the problem for these days in any case does not exist, given that the track in question has closed down for the week, a sign that precautionary measures have gained the upper hand.
The writer himself actually lives in the province of Rimini and is therefore experiencing first-hand the situation and the prevailing mood. It is difficult to explain how the people of Rimini took the news of the decree, which became official on the night between Saturday and Sunday: in fact, yesterday the images of Rimini port overflowing with people intent on strolling around made the news headlines, a sign that the seriousness of the whole situation has perhaps not got through to the majority of the population, while today the city of the legendary film director Federico Fellini woke up covered with ‘post-its’ with the phrase "Everything's going to be all right", written (perhaps) by a girl to give strength to the people.
Without being too tragic we can say that "There is no certainty of tomorrow", but as Enea Bastianini said after the Qatar race "I don't know what to expect at home, but if we are all good we will get out of it".
