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LOSAIL - For the moment, no one has fired up their engines in Losail yet. The pit garages are ready, the bikes are all lined up, someone has been taking usual final photos on the pit straight.
“I need two RS-GPs in the pit lane - orders Paolo Pezzini, the head of Aprilia’s PR team, who adds - if you bring only one, remember to take two front fairings”. For the obvious reason of the race numbers of Aleix Espargarò and Maverick Vinales.
The atmosphere is already warm, for all three categories because the wait after the winter break is always long and the tests always fail to recreate that atmosphere of waiting for a Grand Prix.
It is an extended family reuniting again, that of MotoGP which meets again for the first time of the year in Qatar. As always, a lot of things have changed, which is why it is a continuous coming and going of technicians, mechanics and managers who meet in the back of the pit-lane to exchange wishes and feelings, perhaps, for a new job position, as was the case of Francesco Guidotti for example, who has moved from Ducati to KTM and Livio Suppo, who returns to the track with Suzuki after his sabbatical years at the helm of Thok, his e-bike company.
There is talk of the first Grand Prix, but also of the first problems.
"Having the Indonesian GP with a one-week gap after Qatar is a bit of a problem because it forces us all to go home – says Maio Meregalli, Yamaha team manager - on the other hand, there were obvious logistical concerns about moving all the material to Mandalika”.
There are also questions about the conditions of the track and the decision to have the race run at six in the afternoon, Losail time, four in Italy.
"We will have virtually only FP1 to find the set-up, then the riders will have to up the ante already in FP2 to get through the trap of Q1 - continues Maio - because in FP3 it is likely that the track won’t be as fast. And we hope the asphalt is clean ".
“The track is in the best possible condition, taking into account that we are in the desert - says Loris Capirossi - they sent the cleaning machines out. Logistics problems must be prevented and in any case the conditions, as always, are the same for everyone ".
The former world champion has definitely dropped into the role, and he expects an extremely hard-fought championship.
“From what we saw during the tests they are all within a second. I saw the Ducati very strong, as usual but, in my opinion, more in place at the moment with the GP21 than with the new GP22. And then Honda and Suzuki took a big step forward, especially the engine Suzuki”.
Capirossi: " Marquez looks good, but he will have to get used to riding differently"
Among the protagonists the most awaited is obviously Marc Marquez.
"He looks good, but he has to, he will have to get used to riding a little differently, after the physical problems he has had in the last two years. However, if a rider like Mattia Pasini, despite his arm problems, got used to racing again, Marc will too”.
In the meantime, a BMW 730 U arrives with Carmelo Ezpeleta inside, who was recently the subject of a video interview and the appearance of the Dorna boss, who manages in addition to MotoGP, also Superbike and MotoE, shifts the attention to a series that will not race in Qatar but will make its first appearance in Jerez, Spain - MotoE. Thanks to the presence of Michele Pirro, we managed to find out some details of the new project involving Ducati, which recently tested in Vallelunga with Alex De Angelis.
Pirro: "With the Ducati MotoE two laps at Nardò at an average speed of 240 km/h"
"We did two full laps of the Nardò ring at full power, we aim to do a couple of laps more than the current race length. We were also able to reduce the weight."
How much? Michele remains buttoned up, there is talk of about 25 kg and Manuel Poggiali, former world champion in 125 and 250, today coach in the Gresini team declares: “that’s worth three seconds alone”.
There is no logical connection between one topic and another, so Pirro wonders out loud as a kind of provocation: "In your opinion, how long will it take our opponents to copy the front lowering device? I know, it's inevitable, but they will. At the same time, however, they complain… if they want to copy they should do it, but in silence: I worked on that system for a year”.
It is the destiny of the best to be copied and in any case racing is like this: continuously catching up. Gigi Dall’Igna is the Adrian Newey - the designer of the F1 Red Bull - of motorcycling: he doesn't just improve, he innovates.
A thousand topics intertwine in the back of the pit-lane. One more day of chit-chat, then from Friday, finally, it’s time to let the stopwatch do all the talking. The only judge of everyone’s work.
