This time next week, MotoGP will be back in action for round 8 of the 2024 season. Fantic Racing Moto2’s Team Manager Roberto Locatelli gives an update on what has been going on behind the scenes since the Italian GP. 

"This break of three weeks has been very useful for the Fantic Racing riders to regain their ideal physical condition, as both of them underwent arm pump surgery. A rider, professionally speaking, begins the championship in March and ends it in November. He can hardly find time to switch off mentally. We always work both on the physical and technical side, even better when you can do a test as we did with Aron Canet at the Circuit Tazio Nuvolari in Cervesina (PV)."   

Arm pump issues left behind 

"Fortunately, personally I have never had issues with the compartment syndrome but I can see from the feedback of other riders who suffered from it, that it is not an invasive surgery. It can cause some complications if it takes place between one race weekend and another but our riders had about 20 days to recover before they take to the track in Assen."

"In the test on Tuesday, I saw Aron very relaxed. We got to work mainly on his feeling after the surgery. Even if it was nothing serious, it is still important to test his recovery on the bike and it was all good from the get-go. We focused mainly on one of the things that didn’t come easy in the first part of the season: the starts. There were never any issues with our competitiveness and neither with the feeling between team and rider, it is simply about striving for perfection in every single detail to keep on improving. Starting from the physical condition, Aron had already had surgery on the same arm and had to deal another time with that problem. The feeling with the new Pirelli tyres is also crucial, especially at the start. After the test we gained more confidence and we are going to Assen even more aware of our strength."

Assen always stands out

"Assen is known as the famous “cathedral of speed”. The layout has changed over the years and the track is now shorter, once it used to be more than 6 km long. The oldest part of the circuit is very demanding and unique because they did not take inspiration from any other track when it was built. They added new grandstands that are bigger and closer to the track and the run-off areas were adapted to ensure the safety standards. It is still a historic circuit though and that makes it even more prestigious to be able to fight for the top positions there. As a rider, I never won at Assen. It would be amazing to be able to get on the podium as Team Manager."

"Back when I was racing, the schedule of the Dutch GP weekend was different. We used to race on Saturday because they gave the fans time to recover from the festivities. For them it is like going to a concert where you enjoy the show even if you are not the frontman. Our commitment is to entertain the public as much as possible at a historic venue like Assen, for the Dutch GP that is also known as the TT of Assen. Fantic Racing will give its 100% as always."