Before heading to Arco di Trento, where the second and final round of the Internazionali d’Italia MX EICMA Series 2023 will take place, OffRoadProRacing interviewed Davide De Carli, team manager of the RedBull GasGas Factory Racing team to know more about his riders after the Ponte a Egola race.
I would say that your debut as team manager has been more than positive.
“Yes, it went very well, as the first race of the season, which we believe is very important in order to be ready for the GP season. The boys did a good preparation this winter and are still completing it. They are currently not yet at the top and we’re working to refine the final details: starts, bike and physical condition, but we’re on a good position at the moment. We have done a great job with the bikes, the KTM group has worked hard this winter.”
Simon won in MX2 with two good races, very smart, without taking any risks, a promising start.
“Yes, a good race, with Simon we’re point to the title, let’s see if we can stay on the podium almost every weekend to fight for it until the end. After a season like the past one, Simon will face the third year of the world championship; now he has more experience, he’s already won, he’s been on the podium often and he’s also used to the red plate. Now he is more aware, he has more experience and having fought he approaches the championship with a different mentality. We weren’t able to see the comparison with Geerts but there was Benistant and Adamo who impressed me a lot with how he improved under the guidance of Tony and Joel (Cairoli and Smets ed), training in Sardinia and Belgium.”
Mattia, fourth and best of the Italian riders, showed excellent things and a great confidence with the 450
“It went well with Mattia too, we worked well with him during the winter, trying to fill those small gaps that emerged last season, hoping that the ups and downs are now less frequent and if he will ride like he did on Sunday in Ponte a Egola, he should almost always be in the top five. It must be said that Mattia is the youngest rider in MXGP this year, let’s give him some time to grow physically but also mentally, because MXGP is not for everyone. Let’s wait but I’m confident, in my opinion he has great skills and excellent potential, I hope to see him regularly there in the top five positions.”
Interview: OffRoadProRacing
Image: Juan Pablo Acevedo
