Giacomo Agostini, Carlo Canzano, Marco Lucchinelli and Loris Reggiani were guests of the show “Ciapa la MotoGP”. There has been talk of Bagnaia (everyone agrees that he is very strong), of the Sprint race (only Agostini defends it) and, naturally, of Marc’s accident
March 29, 2023
It was a fantastic evening: I have to thank Carlo Canzano who helped me organize the live Ciapa la MotoGP with Giacomo Agostini, Marco Lucchinelli and Loris Reggiani. Four professionals, four friends who got together to discuss and comment as they once did on TV8.
After three years, they are back “together”, protagonists of “Ciapa la MotoGP”, special Portuguese GP. The four, as Loris later wrote on his Facebook page, “they laughed, they said all sorts of things”, they exchanged opinions: for me, having had the privilege of listening and trying to “moderate” them, it was wonderful. Because when the confrontation is first and foremost between MotoGP enthusiasts, it doesn’t matter if one thinks differently from you, it only matters to get together and talk about the sport we like best. Here is a summary of the live broadcast.
Bagnaia’s victory
Carlo Canzano (CC): “Bagnaia was and is the favouriteas it was in 2022. At the time, however, he had struggled a lot at the beginning, while in 2023 he started well: until now he has been perfect. It’s a done and finished sample”.
Giacomo Agostini (GA): “Bagnaia and Ducati are on the right track to open a cycle: he has a great bike and he is very good, he uses the tests to the fullest. He is cold, he knows how to handle the situation ”.
Marco Lucchinelli (ML): “He’s going very fast, he rides a very fast bike, but nobody gave him anything: he had two fantastic races. He lacks to deal with a Marquez in place ”.
Loris Reggiani (LR): “In 2021 he finished second in the world championship, but was the best in the season finale; in 2022, he recovered 91 points behind; this year he seems to be going even stronger than before. Those who criticize him are those who were also detractors of VR46”.
the sprint garage
GA: “I liked it, I think the audience enjoyed it. It’s a race to all intents and purposes, it’s normal for the riders to give everything. The problem is above all for the teams”.
Agostini, however, has another commitment (we knew it from the beginning), so we anticipate the Marc Márquez argument with him. Tempers heat up…
GA: “Many things I’ve read make me laugh… He made a mistake: I’m not defending him. But he apologized, he took the penalty, I called him on the phone, he told me: “Yes, I was wrong, we can all be wrong”. There was someone else who made a mistake on Saturday, sending other riders to the hospital (the reference, of course, is to the Marini/Bastianini accident, editor’s note). I do not understand why. In doing this job, it can happen, even considering today’s bikes and brakes: by now he almost breaks away on bends. There is no room to overtake… The pilot goes at 300 km/h, ‘drooling at the mouth’, you can’t see well: I don’t want to excuse him, but he could be wrong. If you want to win, you have to take risks, that’s what motor racing is all about”.
ML: “It’s clear that Marquez is not defensible due to Sunday’s mistake, but the punishments should be for everyone and homogeneous”.
LR: “I have a ‘slightly’ different view. The incident is okay, I’m against sanctions in general. Marquez’s accident could be there, a bit of a rookie mistake, but a mistake. But in the previous laps, he had committed other improprieties, he sided with the other riders: it was absolutely out of control. But someone who has won eight World Cups can’t be that much out of control: there is something he is hiding from us. The diplopia? A physical problem bigger than it is, just to be able to keep running? Or you have to make him pee and check how he’s doing on the track… It’s a problem that goes beyond aggression, he looked like someone who had never ridden a motorbike, he wasn’t Marquez. Maybe he feels the pressure of Rossi’s nine titles ”.
ML: “But mistakes happen and if you’re in the fray, you throw someone down.”
CC: “The accident could have turned into a tragedy, the fault is obvious. But Marquez is not being tried for what he did, but as Marc Márquez: this is not good. And aerodynamics has transformed these bikes: to overtake, you have to take risks”.
ML: “He had already been trying to fall for a while, it’s like he’s lost his measure. You were wrong and quite a bit, it is indefensible for what you did on Sunday. But he immediately fell on him, while for Marini one looks at the degree or degree and a half of inclination…”.
LR: “It’s not like that, Marini has never done such a thing. MM93 was out of control, even before the accident: that’s why he was attacked. Not because he missed an overtaking ”.
CC: “In the two races, we saw many other mistakes, more numerous than in the past. These bikes are increasingly effective, but also more difficult to manage and more tiring”.
ML: “That’s right, but it will be like this all year round: the bikes are very balanced, there is a lot of competition and everyone is at the limit”.
LR: “Until a few years ago it was said: the race is not won in the first three laps. Now that’s not the case anymore”
Still on the Sprint
CC: “It will heavily affect the championshipnot just as a race, but for how the weekend has changed.”
LR: “As a viewer it’s obvious that it better be there, but yesEvaluate Sunday’s race. But the public cannot be ‘sequestered’ two days a week. For me it is total idiocy, which affects the safety of the pilots, with less prepared bikes. And to achieve results, you take more risks than before.”
CC: “Sprint race to make a show? But what’s the show? It’s not a one off…”.
Everyone agrees on the Sprint race, just as everyone agrees on condemning Stefano Domenicali’s words (“Less free practice, more races”, ed.): “They are neither in heaven nor on earth”.
Who could be Bagnaia’s opponent?
LR: “Vinales”
ML: “He let me down in the past, I don’t believe it anymore”
LR: “You’re right, I withdraw…”
CC: “Vinales, it seems to me that Aprilia is tough. But the Bagnaia/Ducati combination is superior for the moment”.
LR: “Maybe Martin. But he’s not in the internal Ducati team, he can’t win the title”.
CC: “Yes, it’s difficult for a rider from an external team to win the world championship”.
Then many other anecdotes, teasing, opposing views. How nice to listen to them.
