MotoGP: Avintia riders positive and eager to learn

The Avintia team unveiled their new 2021 liveries this week as the team merges with VR46.

For the first time since 2012 there is a ‘VR46′ on a Ducati, however this time it is for a VR46 team. Valentino Rossi has provided the support necessary to ensure his half brother Luca Marini will ride in MotoGP in 2021 after an outstanding Moto2 season which saw him take P2 overall in the standings.

The Avintia team unveiled two very different liveries ahead of their 2021 MotoGP campaign which is rumoured to be the teams last in the top flight before a move to Moto2 in 2021. On one side we had Marini decked out in the Sky VR46 livery which also donned various Avintia logos incorporated into the design, whereas the 2020 Moto2 World Champion Enea Bastianini ran a standard Avintia livery which we have become accustomed to in the previous years.

This is the teams strongest premier class line up in the teams’ history with the top 2 Moto2 riders riding for them in 2021, both riders are feeling incredibly confident ahead of the season but acknowledge that it will not be an easy ride due to restricted testing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the cancellation of the postseason, tests none of the rookies have been able to try the bike yet so the unveiling was more of an activity for the riders to meet their teams and get to know one another better, when asked about he feels ahead of the season Marini said, “It is not easy to tell you how I feel, I have not tried the bike yet and I want to wait until the first test in Qatar then my mind will be clearer and I will be able to answer this question, but I want to improve and learn a lot of things as soon as I can.

“The bike is very different from Moto2 with the tyres, electronics. I need to study and prepare myself, I am ready and it is the right moment to do this, I am very motivated to start, I want to start tomorrow.”

He understands that this will be a steep learning curve but the Italian is more than ready to learn and adapt, “The first part of the season I need to understand how MotoGP works, there are so many different things, the riding style which Ducati requires is not like the Moto2 bikes so it will not be easy in the beginning.

“I really like the people I work with so I really want to start soon because I feel I will enjoy it a lot.”

2020 Moto2 World Champion Enea Bastinaini shares the feeling of a lack of testing with his teammate, both understanding that they will not have much time to adapt before they are flung into their first MotoGP Grand Prix just over a week after their first test on the bike.

Enea said, “The 2020 year was fantastic for me, I was a world champion for the first time. this is a new adventure for me, my first year in Ducati in MotoGP with Avintia Ducati.

I have to learn a lot from MotoGP and in the middle of the championship we will see what we can do, it’s important to be consistent to learn everything. We need to understand a lot with the bike, with only 6 days of testing its hard to learn with the race the week after, I can learn the most I can but we will see. I am ready for this battle.”

Featured images – Avintia Team 

Sky VR46