After securing two third-place finishes at Misano, Michele Pirro raised the Ducati banner even higher at Mugello, claiming the Bologna-based manufacturer’s first victory of the season and his first win as a Garage 51 rider in the CIV Superbike series. This result brought a smile back to the face of the ten-time Italian champion, but it's not enough to change his mind about the current regulations of the premier class of the Italian championship.
“I’m happy mostly with this morning’s pace. Lapping at 1’49” wasn’t a given, but I came here with a clear plan, I did my part, and I don’t think I have anything left to prove. I race because I enjoy it, and I’ve been a key player in the Italian Championship for over twenty years, so there’s no need to say more. My 2018 record still stands. I thought I’d beat it, but I guess age is catching up with me,” he said with a laugh at the press conference.
“Yesterday I saw that I could go under 1’50” and lap in the 1’49” range. The problem this year is getting a clear lap. That’s why I pushed as hard as I could this morning right from the first lap when I realized the track was clear,” he continued. “I didn’t know if it would happen again. In fact, by the second lap, I’d already caught up to other riders and couldn’t try again. It wasn’t possible to beat the 2018 record, but I wanted to try, because the new bike works well, I have a good feeling with it, and this is a track that suits me particularly well.”
However, the potential he managed to show this weekend wasn’t enough to change Michele’s stance on Misano.
“I still stand by my opinion, and that’s that. We have to acknowledge what happened, and this doesn’t change my judgment of the riders. No one has ever questioned the quality of the riders. I have the utmost respect for them and for what Delbianco does. However, there are things that need to be improved for the future of our sport, and, above all, for those who invest. There are situations that need to be resolved and that are beyond our control as riders,” he commented.
Clarifying who he was referring to when he said he was annoyed by those who had disrespected him, he then added, “In general, I’ve heard a lot since Misano. But as they used to tell me when I started my career, ‘what matters is Monday’s standings'. Those who talk might do so partly out of envy or for other reasons, but what matters—and what speaks for itself—are the standings and the track record. You can win a championship, one race, or five, but if you look at Pirro’s track record, you’ll see that I’ve been racing since 2000, I’ve been among the frontrunners and the fastest in everything I’ve done, and I even fought for pole position in the MotoGP here at Mugello. I’m happy, at my age and with two daughters, to have lapped at 1’49” after eight years. I’ve done what I had to do. I’ll leave the rest to the others.”