We can’t deny it, when Lorenzo Baldassarri started his 2020 Moto2 season in Qatar, we thought he’d go on to play a starring role aboard the team Pons Kalex. Just like the year before, “Balda” made a great start, racing up front and reaching the podium. But the end tells a different story, the rider finishing his seventh Moto2 season in just twelfth position.

A 2020 short on satisfaction

After fifteen races, that second place in Doha proved to be his only podium finish of the season, the year characterised by various problems, a few errors, but also a smattering of positive performances. One that stands out is Le Mans, a track at which Lorenzo has never faired particularly well, where he started 26th but was able to cross the line in eighth place after making an extraordinary recovery.

Or the Valencia double-header where, having found good feeling with his bike, he was able to fight Enea Bastianini for fourth place, another important top-five result coming as a much-needed morale boost.

Welcome back!

October brought confirmation of his move, or rather his return, to Forward Racing, now known as MV Agusta Forward Racing, the project now linked to the Italian manufacturer. So Lorenzo returns to the fold, to a team that has its base in Lugano and is owned by Giovanni Cuzari, with whom he grew from 2015 to 2017. 

A taste of 2021

The new pairing has already started work during a private test at Jerez last week. While day one was conditioned by bad weather, on the second day the 24-year old completed 67 laps, or 296 km, with positive sensations. The rider had this to say: “When I got on my F2 for the first time, I thought it would be like starting from scratch, but it wasn’t like that. I expected it all to be different but I like the set-up and the line. The bike responds well, and this is really interesting, a great opportunity”.

And what it was it like to be back in the Swiss garage? “Returning to the team after three years is strange, there are new team members I don’t know though the boss is the same, there’s a lot of energy and the guys transmit positivity and a desire to do well, and that’s important”. Now all Lorenzo can do is recharge his batteries over the winter break and prepare for what will be a significant new season.

Translated by Heather Watson

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