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When you imagine the ideal conditions for racing a motorcycle, what the riders found today at Le Mans certainly does not come to mind. Cold and rain, one of the worst combinations to encounter at 300 km/h on two wheels. In fact, in Moto2 and Moto3, a lot of riders crashed and one of the worst accidents happened to Luca Marini, Valentino's brother.
“I talked to him and overall he is fine - the Doctor reassured everyone – It was a bit of a fright because it was a really bad crash to see. Luca's overall condition is good ”.
The French GP in the autumn doesn't seem like a good idea…
“They made us go to Jerez in July and Le Mans in October, maybe we did something bad to someone and they want to make us pay for it (laughs). The timing does not seem to me to be the best, but it is also true that due to Covid this year the conditions are particular, they had to redo the calendar quickly. Racing at Le Mans in October is a bit dangerous, just like when we go to Phillip Island this month, it's not the best time. "
In Moto2 and Moto3 there were a lot of crashes, was it just because the riders had less experience?
"In my opinion, especially in Moto2, there are some problems with the tyres, they are too hard. Especially the wet ones, the riders have a hard time riding and in fact they run in Moto3 times, especially when it's cold. The slicks also have the same problem, they can last even 40 or 50 laps. They could make softer tyres for these conditions, but in any case Luca crashed because he made a mistake, he was on his second lap and the left side of the tyre was still cold ”.
What is it like to ride in these conditions with a MotoGP bike?
"The limit is usually 20° on the asphalt, from then on you can really push hard. On the other hand, when you go under it becomes difficult because you can't get the tyres up to temperature ”.
Like today…
“They were dangerous conditions, at the limit. In the morning it was not only wet but also cold, in the afternoon there were patches of damp on the track and the asphalt was below 20°, but I managed to keep a good pace in both sessions. Unfortunately in FP2 they cancelled my best lap because there were yellow flags, but I hope tomorrow there will be dry conditions ".
A curiosity: the Monza Rally could be the last round of the World Rally Championship, are you planning to take part?
“A lot of people have called me to ask me, the plan was not to race there, because I would like to go to Abu Dhabi for the 12 Hours, like last year. But taking part in a round of the World Rally Championship makes things more interesting, I'll think about it ”.
