Just ahead of the first round of the Internazionali d’Italia of Motocross EICMA Series, which will be hosted by the Riola Sardo track, Off Road Pro Racing had a chat with Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Owner of the HRC squad which will have 3 riders in Sardinia, with the debut of Ferruccio Zanchi, competing in MX2 riding the CRF250.
ORPR: Welcome back Giacomo, there are only a few hours left until the first race of the year for your rider, for 2024 you have just announced great news:after many years you are returning to field a rider in MX2.”
GG: “Yes, we hadn’t had a 250 bike on track since the days of Calvin Vlaanderen and we felt the need to go back and do some scouting for the 450. As you know, I really love MX2 which is an old passion of mine and I wanted go back to searching some talent just as it happened in the days of Team 114 which produced riders as Ruben Fernandez, Hunter Lawrence and Mitch Evans who, if he hadn’t been so badly injured, would be among the top riders in MXGP today.”
OPR: “Speaking of Lawrence, what do you use on your 250 from the bikes Jett and Hunter raced in America ?”
GG: “Mostly of the Ferruccio’s bike is the result of the American experience gained by HRC in recent years, the basis we use to race the 2024 MX2 world championship comes from there. For the 450, however, it is the prototype of the CRF450 which will be released in 2025 and is a completely new bike.”
ORPR: “You will certainly have closely followed the winter training of your riders, including the five-time World Champion Tim Gajser, how do you see him approaching the first races?”
GG: “I see Tim as in the best years in which he won his titles, he definitively want to redeem his 2023, continuing on the success achieved at the end of the season.”
ORPR: “What can you tell us about Ruben Fernandez?”
GG: “Ruben is in excellent shape, he had an excellent 2023 and wants to confirm himself to continue his adventure in HRC. This year his contract is expiring and to help him take a further step, we decided to have by his side Jacky Vimond who was already taking care of Zanchi’s training, we are sure that with him he will be able to do even better.”
ORPR: “For years now you have been choosing the Internazionali d’Italia EICMA Series as a testing ground to prepare for the Motocross FIM World Championship and this year is no exception, what more do they give you compared to other pre-season races?”
GG: “We have chosen Sardinia as our winter base for several seasons where preparing for the new world championship event and having a race in Riola is particularly convenient for us; it’s not the only reason though, even last year, in fact, even if we didn’t race in Sardinia, we still took part in the Internazionali d’Italia to better prepare for the World Championship. This is because the races usually take place on tracks that are very familiar to us, on which we have actual feedback and comparable data or on which Grands Prix will be held during the season and which are therefore particularly useful for preparation purposes.”
ORPR: “Obviously yours and the other riders are already ready to compete, so why take part in races that involve risks before the start of the World Championship?”
GG: “Well, you see, a motocross rider can train as much as he wants on his bike, do lots of tests and ride for hours before heading to a Grand Prix but nothing is more effective than aligning his handlebars with those of his rivals to remove that rust that the winter left on him. Lining up at the gate of a race of this level with opponents with whom you will also compete at the world championship is useful for understanding your own level of preparation and above all that of your opponents.”
Interview: Off Road Pro Racing
