Bartolini, Baldassarri Take 100km
Dei Campioni Win
E
lia Bartolini and Lorenzo Bal-
dassarri won the eighth edi-
tion of the 100km dei Campioni at
the VR46 Ranch in Tavullia, Italy.
Hosted annually by Valentino
Rossi and the VR46 Riders
Academy, this year's 100km dei
Campioni dirt track race pitched
40 stars of the motorcycle racing
world against each other in teams
of two—eight of whom compete in
the premier MotoGP class. Luca
Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing
Team) and Rossi who started on
pole, with Bartolini and Baldas-
sarri getting the holeshot from
second on the grid.
At the end of the 50-lap race
around the VR46 Ranch layout,
Marini and Rossi—last year's
winners—had to settle for second
behind Bartolini and Baldassarri,
with Celestino Vietti (Fantic Mo-
tor) and Niccolo Antonelli taking
third.
Rounding out the top five were
four more Italians—Franco Mor-
bidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha
MotoGP) and Andrea Migno in
fourth, with 2022 MotoGP World
Champion Francesco Bagnaia
(Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco
Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Rac-
ing Team) fifth.
CN
IN
THE
WIND
P34
Elia Bartolini
(right) and Lorenzo
Baldassarri took
one of the big
prizes in dirt
track by winning
the 2022 100km
dei Campioni at
Valentino's ranch.
Lorenzo Had Ducati Options In 2020
F
ive-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo revealed
that he was eyeing a switch back to Ducati following
a disastrous stint with Honda in 2019, but decided to call
it quits as the passion for racing was no longer there.
The Spaniard raced two seasons for the Ducati fac-
tory team in 2017 and 2018, finally coming to grips with
the Italian bike to take the first of three wins at the 2018
Italian MotoGP, the same day he announced he was
leaving the team to join Repsol Honda.
"For both 2020 and 2021, I had two opportunities to
return to Ducati," Lorenzo said. "But at the last moment I
didn't feel that passion or desire to sign. Sometimes you
have to know when to stop. This is a risky sport when
you can hurt yourself. I didn't want to take risks because
I didn't feel the need to race anymore."
CN
Jorge Lorenzo could have returned
in red for 2020 if he wanted.
