Forward Racing Team recently presented its riders, colors and sponsors for 2017, with the launch taking place in Milan, northern Italy.
Riders Lorenzo Baldassarri and Luca Marini remain at the helm in the Moto2 World Championship, with Federico Fuligni and another as-yet unannounced second rider lining up in the European Moto2 Championship in the FIM CEV Repsol.
Italian Baldassarri won his first race last season at home in Misano, and is aiming to make a challenge for the title in 2017. Teammate and compatriot Luca Marini is aiming to move forward – and improve consistency over the 18-race campaign. Both Baldassarri and Marini are also part of the VR46 Riders Academy and will remain so for 2017.
Lorenzo Baldassari: “I used the off season to recharge my batteries and to prepare for an exciting 2017. At the end of last year, I had my shoulder surgery and now I’m going through the rehabilitation progress, which is nearly finished as I recovered completely. In my opinion, the right preparation during the winter is vital and now I’m ready for the test in February and the start of the season in Qatar. In 2017 I want to improve further and work on my consistency. This year I really expect us to have the possibility to perform very well and I’ll give it my all.”
Luca Marini: “The preparations for 2017 have been quite similar to the ones in 2016, but now I’ve got one more year of experience under my belt. I knew on which aspects I had to work more, on one hand in the gym, but also in motorsport, motocross or at the ranch. This year, I want to continue to progress, improving my consistency and the results. In 2016 I have learned that this is one aspect that I need to give proper importance to. I think, the key is to score as many points as possible, to get better results and to give always 100%. My goals for 2017 are to run consistently inside the top 10, while I aim to progress further because there is still margin of improvement to be made. A dream would be to make it to the podium this year.”
Giovanni Cuzari, Team Owner: “Obviously, it’s the goal to win the World Championship in 2017 and if you are involved in racing the aim is always to win. Today I want to express a big thanks to all our sponsors for their trust in us, as well as Alessio Salucci and Valentino, because they gave me the opportunity to show the worth of this project, this team. We have two riders of the VR46 Riders Academy in our racing team, which for me means a lot, because they also take care of the riders, when they are not on track. My team is simply marvelous. It’s what I like to define a second family and having decided to follow my dreams with them, I have a more than positive frame of mind about every single member. We want to carry all the positive thoughts about 2016 to accomplish the goals in 2017.”
