LORENZO ZANETTI, A GLIMPS INTO THE FUTURE
22 September 2005 - Aprilia

Young, modest, and with a hankering for giving it some gas. This combination seems to be the perfect make-up of an Italian rider of the 125. Lorenzo Zanetti has this make-up.

Brescian, eighteen years old and with a head on his shoulders. It seems strange, the typical portrait of the rider speaking about “wild people who think only about racing,” but things are changing. Caused mostly by the teams that are able to bring up the champions of the future in the best way. This is the case with Lorenzo, who in the Skilled Racing Team of Italo Fontana, is paving the way to a brilliant future.

But how is the season going at this point for the young Italian rider?
It’s definitely hard because the level is really high, but for now I at least know the courses, but to control the motorcycle and keep up with the best remains difficult. With respect to the first races that I did with Gp in the Italian Championship, the difficulty is more physical. The distance is double in terms of laps to complete, and the competition is certainly higher.

At this level then, does the motorcycle or the rider count more?
They both count, as does the refining of the relationship between the technician and the rider. Communicating in a correct manner the motorcycle’s behaviour to who is in the box becomes fundamental. It’s a more serious, delicate and precise work.

What are your goals for the end of the season?
To always do better, and to always get more points.

At the beginning of the season you suffered an unfortunate incident that keep you out off of the track for three races, how bad was this situation for you?
It was hard because during winter I really worked hard to prepare myself for this season; for me it was the first complete season, given that last year I had begun to race in the world competitions starting with the Gp of Brno (halfway through the season of 2004). The important thing is to be back in the saddle.

You’re fresh-faced eighteen year old, what can do you tell your friends about your world experience when you go home?
Travelling around the globe for a guy my age certainly isn’t normal, in fact some of my friends are envious. But it’s also difficult to make them understand that, anyway, when I’m away I’m also working, and there are a lot of efforts they don’t see. It’s very difficult to make someone who stays at home understand that on the track it’s not only fun, but also obligation and pressure caused by the competition. Most of the time, one can’t make the behind the scenes work seen, that they comprehend the long training sessions at home.

What has changed for you since you started on the world motorcycling circuit?
Everything is changing... I’m not kidding! People see me as I am, a normal guy.

We’re at the end of the season, give us an analysis of the remaining rounds and tracks...
I’m superstitious and I won’t say it... no, come on, I’ll give it my all and I want to do well. At Sepang I fell but I was ok with the motorcycle, not like in Japan, where I wasn’t able to understand the track very well, and I have to say that even this year I had the same problems. In Australia I could do well, in Qatar I hope the heat doesn’t play mean tricks on us. Turkey is new, so I don’t know, but in Valencia we even did tests at the beginning of the year and we should already be in shape to have a competitive motorcycle.

Where do you want to be in five years?
Motogp wouldn’t be bad – smile – but also I wouldn’t mind being in 250. It’s important to start doing well here and as soon as possible.

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