Rossi, Marini win 100km dei Campioni race at MotoRanch
Valentino Rossi and younger brother Luca Marini took victory in Sunday's seventh edition of the 100km dei Campioni dirt track team race, held at Rossi's MotoRanch in Tavullia.
The pair held off Elia Bartolini and Stefano Manzi, with Mattia Pasini and team-mate Lorenzo Baldassarri completing an all-Italian podium.
42 riders, or 21 pairs took part in the event, including not only many of the ranch regulars but current MotoGP stars Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins, as well as Rossi's former arch-rival Jorge Lorenzo and American Supercross legend Jeremy McGrath - both making their debuts.
Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia didn't ride, but fellow VR46 Academy MotoGP rider Marini had claimed individual honours in Saturday's 'Americana' elimination race ahead of older brother Rossi, Celestino Vietti and Stefano Manzi.
Sunday's main race began with a traditional endurance-style start with a run to the bikes, with Avintia Moto3 rider Bartolini taking the early lead from Rossi and Pasini.
Run over 50 laps, the race saw a rider swap every 5 laps. There were plenty of twists and turns, not least a crash for Marini during his second stint. However, the 2021 MotoGP rookie went on to seal victory with a pass on Manzi with 12 laps to go.
That decided the top two places, but the battle for third between Pasini - Baldassarri and Bezzecchi - Migno went almost to the finish, 2022 MotoGP rider Bezzecchi falling just a few km from the flag.
VR46 riders Niccolò Antonelli and Celestino Vietti took fifth ahead of Moto2 rival Augusto Fernandez and Brazilian Red Bull Rookies cup rider Diogo Moreira, who made an impressive first appearance at the MotoRanch.
Italians Alberto Surra and Federico Fuligni followed in P7, ahead of Alex Rins - Albert Arenas and Tito Rabat - Xavi Artigas. Jorge Lorenzo and Moto3 title runner-up Dennis Foggia completed the top ten.
Aprilia MotoGP's Vinales and former Tech3 KTM rider Iker Lecuona were 13th.
- Rossi – Marini
- Bartolini - Manzi
- Pasini - Baldassarri
- Bezzecchi - Migno
- Antonelli - Vietti
- Fernandez - Moreira
- Surra - Fuligni
- Rins - Arenas
- Rabat - Artigas
- Lorenzo - Foggia
- Patacca – Farioli
- Di Giannantonio - Cecchini
- Lecuona - Vinales
- Nepa - Ortola
- Davies - McPhee
- Bertelle - Zannoni
- Belli - Gramigni
- McGrath - Zaccone
- Casadei - Ferrari
- Manfredi - Bassani
- Ottaviani - Serra
Next: Gulf 12 Hours
Having completed his final MotoGP race at Valencia last month, Rossi will now turn his attention to January's Gulf 12 Hours sportscar race in Abu Dhabi, where the Italian will again be teamed with Marini and Alessio 'Uccio' Salucci, driving a Kessel-run Ferrari 488 GT3 in the Pro-Am class.
The trio won the Pro-Am class and finished third overall in their Gulf 12 hours debut at the same Yas Marini circuit, then took second in class and fourth overall in last year's Bahrain event.
With sportscars replacing MotoGP as Rossi's main racing focus in 2022, but the exact series still unclear until he can better understand his speed and potential, the nine-time world champion is sure to be taking the Gulf event more seriously than before.
That was underlined when a day of testing was held, with all three drivers, at Misano in early November.
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.
