“As a father you get good training, I feel immense joy. But I think I’ll wait before I have a second because the first child is already preoccupying you. ” laughs Simone Corsi, who has struggled with diapers and bottles since Michael’s birth. He seems fine, at least as much as he is on a motorcycle, and now his nineteenth season in the World Championship awaits. The Roman veteran’s debut dates back to 2002, in 125, just a wild card, but from the following year he was permanently in the old eight-liter category, while he has been racing in Moto2 since 2010. This year he will wear the colors of the Forward team again on the MV Agusta.
So isn’t it true that a kid makes you lose a second every lap?
“On the contrary, last year I went slowly, when he was born, I felt better, I cut my times by half a second. Maybe I have to have one more. You need to give more gas because the home costs are increasing! (Laughs) Joking apart, it’s a pleasure to have a nice family. “
You are in your second year at MV Agusta, what went wrong last season?
“We fought a lot in the first part, then we got better. We didn’t get great results, they were way below our expectations at the start of the season, especially given Stefano’s fourth place in the last race of 2019. We started with high expectations that disappeared immediately after the first tests. “”
Could more have been done?
“The team worked a lot and in Valencia we were fast on Saturday, Manzi had reached pole position and I was tenth in qualifying, but two tenths behind him. However, on Sunday the temperatures had changed and we couldn’t go as fast as the day before. Unfortunately, a minimal change in conditions was enough not to make us constant. It’s a point where we need to work more. “
What’s your goal this year?
“I’ll have a team-mate who I think is very strong. He has won a lot of races in the past few years so I can share the data with him and it will be important to me too. Staying in the top 10 would be a good result for me, and even better in the top 5. The goal of the whole team is to get this bike on the podium and that’s not impossible because we were close to the leaders in a couple of races last year. Given the hard work, I think this is not out of reach. “
How do you feel after all these years of racing? In 2019, it seemed like you wanted to retire …
“This year I had started well, I almost won the Le Mans race and I felt strong enough. Then unfortunately some things happened that I don’t want to talk about. I’m just saying that some teams don’t.” Don’t do the races the way they should be done. I stayed home, I had lost the desire because after so many years and so many sacrifices I saw that some people were thinking of something else instead of competing. To tell the truth, I had lost all desire, I had already told my family that I was going to quit. “
Instead?
“They suggested that I do two wild cards with NTS and as soon as I was back on track, the desire came back. Then, in August in Misano, Giovanni (Cuzari, ed.) Called me to ask if I wanted to try the MV in Misano. I said yes but without making any commitments and that day I was walking fast, there was also Alex Marquez who won the world championship and I was two tenths behind him. I said to myself: so that I can still accelerate (laughs) ”.
It was not the time to retire …
“The wish was back and then I had the opportunity to work with Mauro Noccioli again. So I told Giovanni that I would give anything if there was a chance.” This is my nineteenth year. “
You have to be until 20 …
“Let’s think about it first. I was thinking about retiring because it has become more and more difficult to race over the past few years, as young drivers arrive who do very well. But I always have the same desire, I trained a lot in winter and I feel fitter than when I was 20 years old. So why not Valentino is 42 but I don’t think I’ll get through to him (laughs) But the sensations a racing bike gives me don’t give me anything else. I like having Lorenzo in the garage, he’s a strong team-mate and it stimulates me. I am ready to begin ”.