Fifth place today is the best result in his first year in the premier class for Luca Marini. During the final laps of the Austrian GP in the rain, the Italian on the Ducati of the Sky VR46 team made the drastic decision not to change the wheels and not to mount the rain tires. A dangerous decision that paid off for the # 10 who finished his first race in the top 5.
“The last lap was very difficult, especially because of the temperature of the brakes – said Luca – I just tried to manage things in the best possible way, I believed in the podium. Unfortunately, in the last three corners, three drivers who had rain tires and were very fast overtook me. I am very happy with the result of today’s race, and above all I am happy that I made a wise choice at a critical moment. Of course, a podium would have been even better, but I’m happy with the race. Now I’m thinking of the next one! “.
Did you celebrate with Valentino right after the race?
“Maybe we were on the verge of making history. If we had finished second and third it would have been great, but it was a really tough race. We had fun in the fight, we were happy and hugged at the end of the race. “
What did you think when you saw the flags waving in the rain? And how did it feel to see Pecco overtake you so quickly?
“At the beginning I checked the board again and again, also because there was a risk that it would rain right from the start. It also rained very little at the beginning of the race, but I have to say that I feel very comfortable on the Ducati in these conditions now, perhaps also because I am improving on the bike. In such situations it’s an excellent bike and the Michelins are excellent too, even if there are some wet spots on the track they work very well. When Pecco passed me, I was sad because I knew that other drivers would also catch up with me. I am happy that he finished second.
Do you immediately see in which position you crossed the finish line?
“Yes, there are screens and that’s where I checked.”
Don’t you think that the race management should intervene in a rainy situation like today? Racing drivers think like racing drivers and many of you haven’t put on rain tires … isn’t that too dangerous?
“I’ve thought about it too. At the exit of turn 1, when you have to come into turn 2 with the heavy rain in sixth gear and have slick tires, I thought we were taking a risk. But what can you do? The direction of the race allows you to switch bikes and then the risk remains with the rider. I think the rule is right, if a driver feels good, he drives on in this situation, otherwise he brakes. Ultimately, we drivers know how to deal with this situation. The Michelins work very well in the wet, if they are warm you can still do a few good laps. If you wanted to get a podium in MotoGP, you’d do a lot worse, that’s the reality, doing five laps in the wet isn’t a problem.
How did the fight with Valentino go?
“It was great, there was a moment when I wanted to change bikes. But then, in front of the pit lane, he passed me and I thought I’d stay out to try. I got behind Vale. In the beginning he was doing quite well, then I had a little more, even compared to Lecuona. I tried on the last lap and it worked because I won in this group of drivers. “
In those moments, did you realize that you were fighting for the podium?
“Yes sir. I don’t know why but they didn’t put me in third but I knew. In an already critical situation, I would have had even more pressure not to make mistakes, but I knew that very well. I tried to stay cool and clear, but I didn’t think riders with rain tires would come so quickly. It rained a lot on the last lap, I lost 20 seconds … it’s racing, I had a lot of fun. “