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The MotoGP riders, including our three Italians Di Giannantonio, Morbidelli and Marini, all spoke on this Thursday eve of the Argentine Grand Prix. We offer here a brief overview of the different situations of our representatives in the premier class.
Fabio Di Giannantonio's 2025 season got off to an uphill start. Having skipped the tests in Malaysia and Thailand, the VR46 team rider stoically turned up at the starting blocks in Buriram with a fresh fracture of the left collarbone, which he picked up on the Sepang track on the first day of practice.
In the South American trip, the Roman will be able to benefit from the precious two weeks of recovery that separated the opening race in Thailand - concluded with a very honorable top 10 finish - from theArgentine Grand Prix, which this weekend will return to host MotoGP after the 2024 break.
"These two weeks at home have been a big help. I haven't had time to do great things but I certainly arrive here in much better condition than Thailand. The shoulder has started working again as it should and day by day the pain is lessening. To get back to 100 percent I will need another 15-20 days, but compared to Buriram it is already a different story. We come here with the right determination to do a good job."
Do you personally think it can greatly affect the performance to not have raced here last year?
"Actually every year is different. It always depends on the weather conditions, the track conditions. We'll see, for sure the team's goal is to do great things, I'll have to wait until I'm back at 100 percent to think about winning races but you shouldn't rule out any kind of scenario. In the team there is a lot of motivation, the attitude is always positive, and I hope I can do good results."
In Termas there was no testing like in Thailand, so you will have one less thing to worry about, and you will be in a much more similar condition to the other riders.
"Definitely. In Buriram we really started from scratch. I had practically no kilometers with the new bike - the so-called GP24.5 - and we were starting from very far away, here we will be well or poorly set up like the other riders even if we continue to lack some laps on the bike."
Pirelli will be the new tyre supplier for MotoGP starting in 2027. What do you think of this change?
"It will be interesting. The new manufacturer has a different approach to tyres and racing. I will miss Michelin a little bit because they have done a great job for MotoGP and also I will miss the people I had connected with. A new era will start for everyone."
Morbidelli: "I'm focused on not making mistakes."
Unlike his teammate, for Franco Morbidelli, 2025 is marking a year of rebirth. Immediately at ease in the yellow-fluo colours of Valentino Rossi's team, the Italian-Brazilian immediately picked up a fourth-place finish in Thailand at the end of a solid and flawless weekend, which he now hopes to repeat on the banks of the Dulce River.
"I'm not expecting any particular result, I'm just focused on doing good Grands Prix - Morbidelli declared - We have to proceed as we did in Thailand, where the result was an actual mirror of our level. We are very focused on not making mistakes to run flawless weekends. The potential of the bike is very high and that is what we have to exploit to chase the top 5 in all GPs. In Buriram we did that and we have to do it here as well, trying to fill in what we lack from time to time."
At Termas you achieved your last top 4 in Yamaha in 2023. Do you think that could be a good starting point?
"I watched a lot of videos from 2023 and was very happy to see what I was able to do with Yamaha. The last time a Yamaha qualified in fourth position I think it was right here with me two years ago. This year I think it will be a tough challenge to adapt the bikes to the track, to sort out the set-up, the electronics, the balance and whatnot. I don't know what it will be like to race on this track again after two years, for sure it will be all the more difficult than in Thailand. In any case, I hope I can replicate a great performance."
Franco we know that after this weekend you will move to your second homeland, Brazil, which after 22 years will return from 2026 onwards to host a MotoGP race. How did you welcome the news?
"It's great, I'm very excited to go to Brazil, even though the circuit is in an area of the country I don't know. In any case I love Brazil so much and for me, but also for the other riders, it will be great to race there."
Marini: "Now we have a base."
Luca Marini arrives in Argentina after replicating in the first race of the year his best result since he donned the colours of an HRC rider. The twelfth position atthe Buriram finish line was also the result of an unfortunate start that saw Valentino Rossi's brother move upstream from the bottom of the grid, a comeback that was therefore indicative of even greater potential. The road that the Golden Wing manufacturer has to climb to return to the top of the category is still a long one, but at least in this start of the championship the foundations seem to have been laid.
"I hope I can have a good feeling with the bike as early as Friday, because it is crucial to get into Q2 right away, clearly this is also the target of everyone else, but for us it would be a great achievement to succeed. We showed good potential in the first race and if we can start up front we can aspire to satisfactory results."
Do you think the characteristics of the Argentine track could be indigestible for the RC213V?
"It's hard to say. I think on this track the big issue will be grip. What is certain is that compared to 2023 the tyres have made big strides, we'll see how they will perform in these conditions."
Will you start the weekend with any changes on the bike or have you found a base?
"The set-up will be the same as two weeks ago. We worked really well during the test, the ideas are clear. Tomorrow we will start from the bike that finished the race in Thailand, we will make just a few small adjustments for this track, but very standard work. I'm very satisfied with the work done so far, we have to keep pushing in the same direction to have fun on as many weekends as possible this year" concluded the Italian.
