Every race number carries with it a story, but there is one that accompanies more than one story. The #58 that Luca Lunetta has proudly and respectfully worn since childhood on his motorcycle is more than just a number, it flows into the myth and history of the sport. Luca's choice to associate his career with this number, Marco Simoncelli's number, is rooted in innocence and passion and with marketing has nothing to do with it, it's an identity of its own: "My father tried to make me change my mind, but I was convinced about it and I kept it," Luca confessed to us while retracing his memories. The arrival of the #58, or rather its return, in the world championship has thus rightly focused the attentions of fans and enthusiasts. Its "homecoming" in Paolo Simoncelli's team then added even more vigor to a story that has all the charm of the true essence of motorsport. Two years after his debut in moto3, the young Roman-born rider now faces another adventure, another challenge: that in Moto2 in Boscoscuro's SpeedRS team. Luca Lunetta in this interview thus retraced this first phase of his career, among successes, uncertainties and lessons not to be forgotten.
This season you will make your debut in Moto2, you've come a long way since you chose two wheels over golf as a child.
"(Laughs) That wouldn't have been so bad! - stated Lunetta - I have all the respect for golfers, but I'm super grateful doing what I do, I'm super happy, one of the luckiest people on this planet. Pursuing your dream is the greatest thing. There are always pros and cons, it's not an easy sport, it's dangerous but in the end you have to accept it. If you do it then it can offer you so much. When I get off the bike I am happy, the emotions that racing motorcycles gives me are priceless."
What do you take with you from these two years in Moto3?
"This last season was a bit difficult, we had some situations that never allowed me to perform at my best. Actually they were two years in which I had fun, in which I fulfilled my dream that I had since I was a child, to race in the world championship. About this period I don't regret anything, absolutely. They were two years of unique emotions, made of ups and downs of course, because as with everything the world championship is not easy at all, the level is very high. Every weekend you are confronted with top level riders, with the pressure of racing. You're in the public eye racing in the world championship, it's not like Junior or CEV anymore, which is still a very high level championship. The world championship is different, there are so many new things."
Your path in the world championship started with a good story, with the decision to bring the #58 back to Simoncelli's team, what was that experience?
"My dream as a kid was to race in the Moto3 world championship. When I was a kid I used to go watch CIV and Moto3 fascinated me, maybe because seeing such young guys could be a real goal. Now that dream has become MotoGP. When I signed with Paolo (Simoncelli) in Austria it was one of the biggest emotions of my career, especially because of the story behind it. Paolo has always been an idol. Marco has been an idol for me since childhood, so I've always admired Paolo as well. Racing in that team would have been cool, and that dream eventually became a reality. Of course, there was also no shortage of pressure; I felt I had more eyes on me than I expected. I was wearing the #58 on that very team, it was a really big thing that touched a lot of people and fans, but it was only right. I've been wearing that number since I started, since when I was five years old my parents made me find my first minimoto under the Christmas tree. It was that fateful 2011, I was still little and I saw that number everywhere, it was a spontaneous thing. My father even tried to change my mind, because it was an important number, but I was convinced about it and kept it."
Together you obtained a few satisfactions, what were the lessons of these two years?
"Yes, although in my opinion we deserved more this year, not only me but especially the team which did a great job. Starting with Marco Grana my chief technician, with whom I had a great time on a professional and personal level, with the mechanics and all the guys in the team. Racing in the world championship makes you grow so much on a personal level. At 17, 19 years old traveling so much around the world, it gives you a lot of experience compared to maybe another guy my age. It opens your eyes, it's a sport where you have to sacrifice every day, where you have to make choices, train even when you don't feel like it, it teaches you discipline. Maybe it didn't used to be like that, everything has evolved to maximize the levels, to make a difference you have to be methodical, disciplined, I'm grateful to this sport for teaching me that."
Your last satisfaction was that podium in Indonesia with Pini and Rueda.
"That was a beautiful, crazy Sunday. Those were beautiful emotions, I was there with my father and my girlfriend after a super difficult period, not only of the season but of my career in general. It was a moment when I found my light a little bit, an achievement that I had been hoping for for months, costing so many hours of work, sacrifice and suffering. That day was cool in its own right."
You were coming from a long injury, perhaps one of the most difficult times in your career. You said you didn't know if you would come back.
"It's like I said, I always tell the truth, what I feel. The crash this year in Assen was the worst of my career, I don't deny that, and it was hard to recover. That was the scariest crash, the one where a rider really gets scared, because when you fly in the air the thought is always "let's hope I land and don't get too hurt, let's hope I don't break." Instead, there it was "let's hope they don't go over me." Those are moments that mark you, but if you can work on it with the right people around, with a mental coach especially ... because it can happen that you want to leave it on the back burner, that you want to go right back to normal, to just push through it. But then that problem comes up again, in a tussle maybe, it can come out and take so much out of you, maybe you slow down, you're slower or you're more afraid in overtaking. So let's say that now I feel more aware, I've seen what motorcycle racing can give, and the bad part I've seen in my face, but I tell you that you know it's there, it's worth it."
After this stage of your journey, do you carry any regrets with you?
"I feel that I missed a little something, but in truth I'm happy with my path so far. Moto3 nowadays is a difficult category for tall, heavy guys, and I suffered this a little bit. I'm not looking for excuses though, I've had chances, while in others I've missed chances because of free contacts. So all the pieces didn't fit together for a win that I would have liked to take home, but I'm happy. The injury also didn't help, but I'm not making excuses, I'm the first one who when he gets off the bike points the finger at himself, which can sometimes be wrong. It happens that the bike has a limit, but I am that person who always demands more from himself, who always thinks he has to improve. But it's also what made me grow and get here now, so that's good."