Rossi, Marini lose crown in ‘100km of Champions’ dirt track race
After victory for Luca Marini in the individual 'Americana' contest on Friday evening, the 100km main event, where riders compete in pairs over 50 laps at the VR46 training facility in Tavullia, was postponed from Saturday due to bad weather.
Sunday dawned brighter and the 100km contest soon turned into a duel between the team of Marini and older brother Rossi, the defending champions, and pairing of Moto3 rookie Bartolini with World Supersport runner-up Lorenzo Baldassarri.
The battle went down to the last lap, but it was Bartolini and Baldassarri who prevailed. The podium for the eighth edition of the contest was completed by Celestino Vietti and fellow Moto2 rider Nicolo Antonelli.
“We knew that Elia and Balda were very fast and we fought from the beginning of the race,” said Rossi. “However, we finished second. It was a great weekend, and the race becomes more and more competitive every year. The best way to end the season."
Marini was one of eight riders on the 2023 MotoGP grid taking part in the event, alongside new world champion Francesco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Rins, Jorge Martin, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Augusto Fernandez.
In addition to Rossi, former MotoGP riders included Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Tito Rabat.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
