English
Italiano
We didn't think about it immediately, but yesterday's all-Italian podium was not just a replay of what we saw in the now distant 2015 with Valentino Rossi, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso. At the time Valentino was fighting for the title aboard the Yamaha in a season in which the M1 was the best bike on the grid and Ducati had just embarked on the path that led it to take over that role and become the benchmark in the paddock.
Yesterday at Losail there were in fact three Italian riders on the podium as at Silverstone 2015, but each of the three had succeeded in the feat astride a Ducati. A subtle but fundamental detail that significantly changes the perception of what happened because it demonstrates once again that MotoGP is now an entirely European affair, until the Japanese giants decide to really wake up. There has never been a doubt that great riders are always born in Italy; just scroll through the roll of honour of the world championship in each category to realize this.
But seeing a group of Italian riders riding such strong Italian bikes at the same time is certainly something completely different. Capirossi had made people dream in his years on the Ducati, when the Borgo Panigale bike was a difficult beast to tame, but Loris remained without heirs until Andrea Dovizioso's magnificent 2017, which in turn fuelled the dream of seeing an entirely Italian win in MotoGP. In 2022 that dream was realized by Pecco Bagnaia, who took his Ducati GP22 to the top of the world, but yesterday's feat perhaps seals another milestone for Italian motorcycle racing.
In fact, it's not just Pecco on that podium, there's not just a Ducati fighting for the title and in perspective things could become even more interesting for us lovers of pure Made in Italy. Fabio Di Giannantonio proved he had balls of steel in the most difficult moment of his career, with no certainties about the future but only a series of doubts and disappointments that he had to deal with, meanwhile putting everything aside once on the bike. You need broad shoulders and Diggia has shown that he has them, he deserves a place in this paddock and we really hope that he manages to get it even if at the last possible moment.
Luca Marini, on the other hand, will have a big challenge to face after the Valencia race, because waiting for him will be the most difficult bike in the paddock, the Honda one that convinced Marc Marquez to change scenery. Luca is recognized by all as an intelligent and attentive guy, calm off the track and yet capable of showing his claws in the race when needed. In our opinion, he has the perfect profile to try to pull this Honda out of the abyss into which it has fallen, and in some ways he reminds us of what Dovizioso did with Ducati from 2013. Dovi arrived on board a ship that was taking on water, but with his consistency managed to keep it afloat until it exploded in 2015 thanks to the arrival of Gigi Dall'Igna. In short, there is something to be proud of for Marini, thinking that the most important motorcycle manufacturer in the world thought of him for this role.
Italian protagonists: Bastianini is back
We said that by looking to the future we can be sure of still having other magical moments to enjoy and we are certain of this after watching Enea Bastianini's race yesterday. Bestia failed to get on the podium, but he set the best lap of the race right at the last crossing of the finish line. In short, the crisis is behind him and in 2024 Enea will return to fight for the top with consistency, perhaps snatching from Jorge Martìn the role of challenger to Pecco Bagnaia, regardless of what a certain Marc Marquez will do once he gets on the Gresini Ducati, but this is another story and Marco Bezzecchi will undoubtedly be able to have his say too.
There will then be another important protagonist to observe carefully and we are referring to Franco Morbidelli. There is no point in hiding the disappointment over Morbidelli's seasons aboard the Yamaha Factory, everyone expected far different results after what Franky managed to achieve in 2020 aboard the M1 satellite. But this particular donut didn't come out with a hole in it and we can only hope that that magnificent rider admired in 2020 wakes up aboard the Ducati in Valencia, that in short Italian fans can find a potential champion again, among other things astride an official Ducati albeit run by Pramac, therefore probably the best bike on the grid.
In short, yesterday's podium at Losail was not the result of chance, it was not a matter of luck and we should not thank anyone other than the protagonists. Ducati believed in Formula 1-style technological development first and is reaping the fruits of investments that started a long time ago, among other things also enjoying the success of the sporting policy that has brought so many young talents on Italian motorbikes. As for the riders, VR46 Academy has produced talents who are absolute protagonists today and who will continue to be so in the future. Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio are not part of this group of guys who train in Tavullia, but they are certainly two talents that all Italians can be proud of.
Forgive the eulogy, but honestly we had a great desire to enjoy this all-Italian podium and there is also a great desire to see what will happen in the future in a MotoGP which, fortunately for us, speaks more and more Italian. We can only conclude with the most classic of 'Italians do it better'.
