The first two legs of the Trofeo Moto Guzzi Fast Endurance 2020, that took place on 18 and 19 July at the Vallelunga track did not let down our expectations, nor did the official Team Proud Owners! Our riders Alessandro Moro and Francesco (Grillo) Grillandini made a good start in both races and pulled off two eighth positions, unrelentingly improving their performance throughout the weekend and winning – and relating – the first 2 of the 5 challenges they chose for us!
LEG 1: THE COMEBACK
«This was my challenge: same motorcycle, same track, one year later. Making a successful comeback. Thinking of that moment gave me all the energy I needed during the lockdown. It gave me something to work for: and it worked perfectly well!…»
Has being a Guzzista ever helped you kick back into action after a difficult period?
LEG 2: GROWTH
«Two things saved me: the motorcycle and sport. Without them I would perhaps have a straighter back but they kept my feet – actually my wheels – on the ground. Racing on track gave me something to work for, put order in my life…»
Has becoming a motorcycle rider, or a Guzzista, helped you to grow into the person you are today?
Every leg of the Trofeo Moto Guzzi Fast Endurance 2020 is both a race for the riders of the Team Proud Owners and a challenge to be tackled all together, as a community.
This is the report of our riders and reporters Alessandro Moro and Francesco (Grillo) Grillandini, who classified eighth in the first race of the season that was held at the Vallelunga Track on 18 July.
THE RACE:
Francesco:
«I tried to relax. I always try to relax before a race. Over the years, I have learnt to manage emotions but at the end they hit you all the same. That’s how things go. It’s my nature. If I have to tell the whole truth, I am almost more uptight about Alessandro than about myself, but luckily the kid made a great start: from the twelfth position out of twenty-four in the grid – which, by the way, is not even a grid; it is more like a “line-up” in the Le Mans-style start – he immediately climbed 5 positions. So I go into hiding in the pit to get into the right racing mood and I do a good job. A minute before the first change, I stand up, slip on my gloves and helmet and wait in the pit lane and… Ale doesn’t stop!
THE RACE:
Alessandro:
«It was late Sunday afternoon and I was there, lined up on the straightaway, ready to dash to the V7 III N° 57 and towards Francesco, who was holding it up for me. Same scene as yesterday, tension again sky-high, yet something was different today: I realize that it’s an important moment, I’m pondering over our strategy, I am focusing because this start will condition the whole race. We are still twelfth and, in leg 1, we understood that in order to consolidate our eighth position or even attempt to improve it, we cannot screw anything up at the start…
