Micheal Ruben Rinaldi is the man of the week after a wonderful weekend in Misano and also the host of our live broadcast (which you can see in full length above). The Ducati Aruba team rider spoke openly about various topics and also interacted with our readers.
It was a long and pleasant conversation that could not be missing from his recent successes …
“Misano was a weekend that almost exceeded expectations. I started on Friday with a desire to collect a lot of points, I had to redeem myself and I was focused – he explained – It was great, I still have to realize what happened: to win in front of the crowd that supported me, on an Italian motorcycle and close to home. I think it’s an emotion that you only feel a few times in life, although I hope to have it again “.
Many Ducati fans were delighted to see Bayliss’ number 21 on the top step of the podium again with the works team …
“I was born on December 21st and have been using this number since the days of mini-moto. I found myself on the official Ducati team by chance. It was clear to me to keep it, but everyone started telling me it was Bayliss. So I wrote to Troy to ask if I could use it, he replied that he would like to have his number on a Ducati again. But then he also made it clear to me that I had to accelerate (laughs), he put me under a bit of pressure. “
Thanks to Cecconi, the patron saint of Aruba, you have made it to the factory team …
“I’m a straight guy and a lot of people don’t like me and others, but I’m always myself. Those of a similar character like me appreciate it, even if I should be more political at times. I arrived here and I stayed myself and Stefano immediately believed in me. It’s true that I’m here thanks to Aruba, but if Cecconi did it, it’s because he believed in me and this win is for him too.
But the beginnings weren’t easy …
“My first year in the SBK was very difficult for me and at the end of the season Barni didn’t want to continue with me. That was a key moment, Go Eleven was interested in me from the start, but without the help of Aruba I would not have gotten this package that allowed me to do some good races. Knowing that I was risking ending up without a lift, I knew 2020 was going to be the year of truth, and I decided to take it like I was little, just having fun. I did it and won my first SBK race, this enabled me to join the works team. “
You worked in a factory before to finance your racing sport. Can you tell us this story?
“When I rode in the Superstock 600 for the first time, I was with the gas team that got me out of Moto3 without charging me a cent, also because I didn’t have one. It was a small team with few resources . ” , but they put their heart and soul into it, unfortunately the results did not arrive, also because the means were not the best. So I went to Germano Bertuzzi who sponsored Savadori and told him that I had the potential to win and that if he would help me, I would work for him. At the end of the year he said yes and I started working with him for two years.
Let’s talk about your opponents: Razgatlıoğlu.
“Toprak is a talented driver and the strongest of them all when it comes to braking. We have been fighting each other since 2016 and have pushed ourselves to improve and there is a lot of respect between us “.
Instead, you had a few encounters with Gerloff …
“He’s a guy who has a lot of talent and puts all of his heart and soul into it. he just has to try to be calmer on certain occasions “.
Who was your idol when you were a kid?
“I was born when Valentino came on stage and he was my idol. Now I happen to watch the old SBK races and they had a lot of courage. “
Do you ever think about MotoGP?
“Every rider’s dream is to get into MotoGP one day, anyone who says something else is lying. My career led me to SBK, I am satisfied with my position, I have nothing to do with MotoGP in the contract, but I’m young and if I could take the title home with me, I’d like to go there. If they called me for even a test, I would hurry (laughs) ”.
Many enthusiasts wonder what the difference is between a production motorcycle and an SBK …
“With the Panigale V4S, which was already standard, I was able to drive 1’37” laps in Misano, only removing the mirrors. With a few improvements you can really get 2 seconds out of an SBK. I don’t use it before races because you can’t edit certain details that I can only do at SBK, for example the tank is a bit too big. “