Marini makes the breakthrough with German Moto2 gong

Moto2 is well accustomed to seeing the distinctive black livery of SKY Racing Team VR46 at the front of the pack. Around the curves of Sachsenring in Germany for the ninth round of nineteen in MotoGP 2018 it was the sight of Luca Marini troubling the leaders instead of countryman, teammate and championship leader Pecco Bagnaia (the #42 unlucky to be forced off the track due to a tumbling Mattia Pasini).

#10 was part of a front-running trio that included Brad Binder and Joan Mir and fought for a fantastic third position that represented a career landmark.

Marini had found pace, form and confidence around the never-ending curves, and largely thanks to his slow recovery from a shoulder problem that had restricted his potential on the Kalex. “My shoulder is difficult to understand,” he admitted. “I had two dislocations in two weeks before Jerez [round four]. I had a lot of pain and I needed two-three months to do some good laps and races in a row. Here in Sachsenring I knew it would be difficult but we worked a lot at home with my physical trainer to be well prepared. We had a good strategy for the weekend to do our best in the race.”