It is difficult to put into words all the emotions of this incredible weekend in Barcelona, the last GP of the season. A weekend that began with a heart close to the people affected by the flood, made even more special by the extraordinary warmth of the fans who flocked to the circuit for this solidarity race.

But the most intense moment was undoubtedly the farewell to my team. A team that has been not only my team, but my family for the past five years. From Moto2 to MotoGP, they have accompanied me on an extraordinary journey of challenges, victories, difficult moments and continued growth. I wanted to dedicate the helmet to them for this race, carrying their dedications with me, over every turn, in every overtaking.

In the race I tried to keep my emotions at bay, but they were too strong. The race? It wasn’t bad, decent I would say, but I gave it my all. First I ran out of the front tire, then the back tire, and in the last ten laps I struggled to stay up. And at the end, there was a big tussle with Pedro (Acosta ed.).

This year has been complicated, yes, but also deeply meaningful. We never gave up, never stopped believing. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve grown as a driver and as a person, and so much of that I owe to them: my team. I will always carry them in my heart with infinite gratitude.

Now it is time to look forward. A new adventure awaits me, riding an official motorcycle: every rider’s dream. And I am ready to give everything, with the same passion and dedication that brought me here.

Thank you all for the support, for always being with me, on and off the track. See you soon, because the best is yet to come!

We arrive in Malaysia wanting to make up for the bad Sunday in Thailand. Qualifying leaves a little bitter taste in my mouth, I couldn’t find a good feeling with the mota: a lot of forward thrust but I can’t get into the corners as I would like. I start behind, from P14 it is difficult to climb back up, especially in the heat of Malaysia. In the Sprint I get a good start (finally) and have fun. I tangle with Jack (Miller) and Pedro (Acosta), then in the finale the tire gets hot and I have to give up. Sunday the race is tough, I manage to recover positions and start a nice bagaree with Johann (Zarco). Still in the final the tire is really hot, the conditions are on the limit and the bike very difficult to ride.

Now we have the last race ahead of us; we don’t know where and when it will be held. All we know is that the Valencia race was (rightly) canceled: it would have made no sense to race after what happened.

We arrive in Thailand charged and motivated, despite the difficult time. FP starts quite well, we make a few changes and in Q2 I manage to get close to the front row. A P4 that is a good base. In the sprint I struggle, especially in the first laps. A couple of mistakes in turn 3 complicated everything, staying in the slipstream for so many laps the soft got so hot and I couldn’t recover much. On Sunday I start off loaded, take a lot of risks at the start, maybe too many and probably didn’t get the rear tire up to temperature. I risk crashing right away, then I try to recover and in my eagerness I find myself on the ground. Nothing, back to work to do better at the next one in Malesaia.

It was a complicated weekend at Phillip Island, where we sowed well but reaped nothing. Two falls, the first in the sprint. Ugly.

Too bad, in FP and qualifying I had been doing well. After Misano we have a good base on which we are working, and the step forward from the first half of the championship, where we suffered so much was there. In qualifying I come close to the front row.

In the sprint I start well, stay in the top group until the second to last lap…. Good tussle until the penultimate lap. Maverick (Vinales) passes me on the straight. He passes me close and takes off early, at which point I found myself sucked into the slipstream. I tried to go to the right to avoid the suction, but I couldn’t, I ran into him. The fall was really bad for both of us.

I am dazed, go to the medical center, fortunately there are no fractures. They still take me to the hospital for a more thorough checkup. I am told that I will have to serve a long lap penalty in the race, I accept the stewart’s decision-.

On Sunday I wake up with the aches and pains from the day before, I know I can still do well in the race. I get off to a strong start, can keep up with the pace of the front runners and feel good. After a few laps I stretch to serve the penalty luckily I don’t lose too many positions and put the knife between my teeth to get back up. Only I make a mistake and end up on the ground. I get the bike back up, start again. By now the race is gone but I still want to run my best. I do some good laps, the pace is good. Knowing that we have good potential charges me, the crashes of the weekend we put behind us and already look forward to the next stage in Thailand. No quitting!

It was a weekend full of different feelings, but overall positive. On Friday with the rain, I had a good feeling on the track. Although we struggled a bit with the time attack, I managed to take Q2 (by a hair). It was something we expected, because the grip here is greater than in Mandalika, and these conditions are always more complicated for us. In any case, we continued to work, knowing that the weather could also play an important role on Saturday. On Saturday in the dry we struggled more, both in qualifying and in the Sprint. The grip conditions are very different here and I still didn’t feel completely comfortable. Nevertheless, we gathered some important data for the race. Sunday went a little better than Saturday, although I got stuck in traffic at the start. The sprint was good, but then I touched with Alex (Marquez) and had to recover. In the first 6-7 laps I was able to pass the Aprilias and then also Jack (Miller), not for the top positions, but it was still fun. The feeling in the overtaking was good, and in the final I got closer to Franco and Brad (Morbidelli and Binder), doing a bit of rubber banding with Fabio (Di Giannantonio) as well. Overall, it was a solid weekend that gave us good feedback to keep improving.

What a weekend here in Indonesia! The reception upon arrival in Mandalika was really amazing, a flood of cheering fans welcomed us and really made us feel at home. In FP I am doing well and manage to hit direct Q2. In the last run of qualifying I get a good start, then I saw the yellow flags. I get distracted for a moment and … I find myself knocked out …. I quickly get the bike back up, think maybe I’m in time for one last run and guess a great lap. P2!! In the Sprint things didn’t go as I hoped. We were really fast and really close. At the chicane between turns 8 and 9 I had a bump on the bike, an abnormal movement that had already manifested itself during the weekend. Then, when I got to turn 10, I had a problem with the brakes: the pads opened and I had to let go of the lever to brake again, going long to avoid Pecco (Bagnaia). I tried to recover, but unfortunately I couldn’t. The important thing though is that we were there, fighting. I had a different compound from the others, it wasn’t a gamble, but the one I felt best with. For Sunday’s race I was still positive, because I’m driving well and I knew I would have other opportunities. And Sunday’s race was a good battle! I tried until the end, but I was definitely more on the limit than Franco (Morbidelli), who was in front for the whole race in the fighting group. It’s a pity that a technical problem at the start penalized us: the front lowerer didn’t engage three times, so I practically started in reverse of the others. Despite everything, the choice of soft proved to be the right one, allowing me to drive as I wanted and make my race. Even if the podium didn’t come, I’m happy, because battling is always an incredible feeling. And now, head to the next race, with even more motivation!

There are weekends that charge you with energy and prepare you for future challenges. This was one of those weekends, where I picked up important sensations and took a good step forward. In FP I struggle, although the feeling in the saddle was not bad. I was slow in the straights and we still don’t fully understand what happened. The chrono was far from expectations, but I didn’t let it get me down. In the afternoon, the change I was hoping for came: I immediately felt better, tried both compounds on the rear, and the feeling improved. We managed to make a good step forward, but the times of the top riders really impressed me. The goal was clear: to get the first two rows to be ready for battle. In qualifying I find good feelings again, although I was expecting a little bit more. In the Sprint I got a pretty good start, I followed Fabio (Quartararo), but I immediately started to struggle with the front tire temperature. The bike wasn’t turning as I would have liked, while Fabio was able to run it better. I pushed hard in the last laps, I tried, but he passed me back. Sunday brought many satisfactions, although the podium eluded me by a whisker. But I’m happy anyway: it was crucial to have a solid race, to fight with the strongest and show up. I took a risk with the soft rear, but it was the right choice for me. It allowed me to brake the way I wanted, and it was good. In the last two laps I started to struggle, but overall it was a good race. And now, it’s off to Asia. There are some of my favorite tracks there, and I can’t wait to go back. Gas!

When you are used to fighting with the top guys staying behind is tough.
In the first few races of this world championship I struggled so much to find the square but I knew where I needed to work.
Small and big steps that eventually led me to riding well again.
To feel the bike, to feel myself as one with it again and not a foreign body.
Since Friday in Jerez I had known that this was going to be a different weekend.
In both dry and wet conditions I was lapping strong.
Straight into Q2 and I manage to get a good lap and put myself on the front row.
In Saturday’s Sprint I don’t get a bad start, I manage to stay in the group.
A few laps from the end I see several riders on the ground, then I end up there too… A wet patch with that angle of the turn sends you straight into the scree.
On Sunday the conditions are optimal, I’m fine, and most importantly I get off to a good start.
I’m in the lead group, Marquez passes me, and after a few laps I see Martin on the ground.
I try to keep up with the pace of the first two but I am on the limit.
I finally ride well, having fun.
First podium of the season, big celebration both on the track and in the pits.
It was really needed.
Now we can look at the season differently, there is still a lot to do but the road is the right one.
Now back to head down on testing and the next GP in Le Mans.

I return to Mugello with a still vivid memory of last year’s wonderful weekend and a great desire to make up for it after LeMans and Barcelona.
Mugello is magic, not only one of the most beautiful tracks in the championship but the one with the definitely warmest atmosphere.
Arriving at the circuit and being assailed by the fans, who despite the difficult moment continue to support me, listening to the roar of the engines that all day long keep your adrenaline high, living Mugello is a goosebump experience.

We start with FP and already in the first laps I can see that the difficulties of Barcelona are still to be solved and I know that we should work a lot to find the right balance.
In these moments it is really difficult to keep calm and focus, but the only way to get out of it is to activate the BeZen mode, which inspired the helmet designed for the race.

We work hard, but we can’t get into Q2.
In the Sprint I start well but get bottled up in the first corner and lose a few positions.
I regain a few positions, collect important data and am ready for a good race.
Fair start, I keep a decent pace then continue to suffer in corner entry, an understeer that puts stress on the tires and then makes everything more complicated.

On the lap of honor I feel the warmth of the crowd and I stop to thank the fans.
It’s in the moments when things don’t go the way you want them to that they can really give you that extra incentive to get competitive again.
We have a few weeks off before Assen, where last year was a great weekend.
And where I want to get back to riding having fun from the first to the last corner.

We arrive in Germany after the disappointment of Assen.
The desire to make up for it is great, but the weekend starts badly.
In FP I can’t really ride, maybe the hardest moment of the whole season.
I go back to the pits, we look at each other and decide to reset everything.
It’s back to the Jerez setup, the changes we made in the last races didn’t work, better to have a rougher bike without too many upsets, but where I can ride over its imperfections.
And on Saturday things change.
In Q1 I ride well, I manage to get into Q2 and start from the fourth row.
Starting back in this track is not easy but the feeling starts to improve.
In the sprint I start well, tangle with Miller and lose a little contact with the front group.
I ride strong, with times close to those of the leaders.
A tenth place that still gives me confidence for Sunday’s race.

The start is decent, I keep a good pace.
I regain a few positions, until P8.
A result that in itself is far from expectations, but that gives me back the most important thing, having fun while driving and having good feelings.
A good base on which we can build the second part of the championship.
Now a few weeks of vacation and see you again in early August at Silverstone

We arrive in Austin knowing that our goal is to close the gap with the leaders.
It’s a long road, which started already in testing where we saw that at the bike level and especially at the riding style level we need to make several changes.
We go home knowing that we are halfway there.
The corner entry now is quite okay, where we need to make the decisive step is in turning the bike without wearing out the tires too much.
And for that we need changes in the bike and in the style, and also on the physical level I’m doing specific work.
The weekend started quite well, with direct access to Q2.
On the first good lap, however, I caught a yellow flag and on the second one I laid down … Starting in P10 in Austin is a big mess.
Because at the first corner you really risk touching yourself and there is a big tussle.
In fact in the sprint I touched with Alex Marquez and lost a piece of the fairing, in the race to avoid some riders I slowed down.
Then getting back up is not easy.
Anyway we bring home some points and in Jerez we have to keep improving.

The Portimao weekend brings us one step closer to Qatar, but we are still far from the top positions and especially from the confidence I had last year driving.
Unfortunately, my riding style and instincts tend to give me problems in corner entry and braking.
I tried different settings but in the end we saw that the best way is not to modify the bike and let my style adapt.
It is not an easy and immediate thing, but gradually we are getting there.
The signs that came in qualifying, where I hit a P6 are good and the pace in the race, in the laps where I didn’t have too much traffic was also good.
Of course it’s that in a tussle instinct takes over and you don’t have time to think about how to reset trajectories and braking times.
But we’ll get there.
We will also fix the start, which in the Sprint penalized me a lot, the good thing is that we collected a lot of data to be able to work on and get competitive again.
Next race AUSTIN one of the toughest physically, there will be fun to be had….

We close the Le Mans weekend with a double crash, in the SPRINT and Sunday’s race.
Too bad, in the sprint I felt really good, everything was under control.
I had a great pace, Jorge (Martin ed.) was closer and I could see that Marc (Marquez ed.) was coming from behind and I tried to push to open the gap a little bit and have margin for the last laps.
I made a mistake in Turn 9 and couldn’t recover.

On Sunday, the start was a bit tricky, the bike wheelies a lot then I started to recover.
However, as soon as I opened the throttle I lost the front end.
It’s a kind of feeling I’ve had since the beginning of the season and we have to work on it.
I don’t think I could have kept up with Jorge (Martin ndr) and Pecco (Bagnaia ndr), but maybe Enea (Bastianini ndr) and Maverick (Viñales ndr) yes.
I was fighting just with Enea when in an overtaking/counter-overtaking I could not do anything to avoid the fall.
The driving sensations were good, the Top5 was possible.

Logical that a double fall is not easy to digest but yes for sure we are back competitive and this gives us confidence for Barcelona

We analyze the data and try again in Barcelona.

We come to this race weekend with mixed feelings.
Since Friday I felt I had a good pace, especially with the used soft tire, but I couldn’t find that right feeling with the new tire.
Unfortunately, those usual problems emerged again, which, on a track like this, seem to be even more amplified.
Nevertheless, I remain confident: the potential is there and I knew we could make a good step on the next day.
The new asphalt was a nice surprise.
Although it was a little dirty initially, as is normal, I have to say that it offers very good grip and has definitely improved the track experience.
On Saturday, during qualifying, we got very close to our goal.
We made good progress and narrowed the gap, but in the last sector I struggled a bit in some places and lost some valuable ground.
That was unfortunate, but we got back to work on the data to make the most of the race pace.
The start would have been crucial to gain positions.
In the SPRINT I start very well, made up a lot of ground, but the fork did not release because the braking was not strong enough.
It got stuck until turn 8, I lost a lot of positions then found myself in the group.
It was not an easy race, many were not right, many defending, performance-wise it was not great Sunday’s race was another intense battle, but overall, the feelings are positive.
Getting a good start was crucial, and I succeeded, immediately finding myself in the wake of the Top5.
However, with eight laps to go, I started to feel a drop on the front tire, a problem we had anticipated since Friday and which I tried to manage as best I could.
I’m still not 100 percent on the bike, which leads me to put a lot of stress on the front, but I gave everything to get to the finish line in a good position.
It’s a shame we couldn’t push until the end, but we keep working hard.
Now I can’t wait to get back on track, especially since we have our home GP coming up!  

We arrive in Assen after a long stop and with still the memory of last year’s perfect weekend.
A track that has always exhilarated me, ever since the minor categories.

In Friday FP I struggle, I can’t drive over the difficulties I had in the last races, especially on the time attack and with new tires.
Q2 is not far away I know that the pace to get into the top 2 in Q1 is there and in fact the first run is not bad, then I get caught up and crash.
The second crash of the day, after the one in FP2 which was a big hit.

In the Sprint I try to make a comeback, a few positions I manage to recover but I finish P11.

Sunday we start again, it’s colder, in the warm up I can find a good feeling and a good pace.
I know that with some adjustments to the bike and riding I can put a patch on it.
We get going, I can’t find the right pace, I try to get back on but I lose the front end right away.
I have understeer, the rear pushes and in these situations it is easy to fall.

Too bad, it’s a difficult time, but let’s not give up and keep working to get closer.

We come to this GP charged up from the break and from the good feelings riding at Silverstone.
Sachsenring, a track that I have always liked very much and where I find a good feeling right away.
Two slips don’t do much damage.
I finish the first time attack with a very good chrono and enter Q2 directly.
Unfortunately I don’t see (Diggia) after the session, he took a bad hit and is in the hospital.
I see him again with a bandaged shoulder, bad hit, hope he gets better soon

In qualifying I don’t make that step I was hoping for to start in the front rows, but from the third row anything is possible.
For the Sprint I choose to mount the medium and not the soft, thinking that it would be the best choice in view of the long race on Sunday.
In the end, it didn’t go badly: I gathered a lot of useful data for the race, although maybe with the soft I would have been faster.
In the first few corners I found myself all on the inside, and right in front of me Alex (Marquez) crashed.
I lost a few positions, but then I kept a good pace.

Sunday’s race was really exciting!
I had a lot of fun, especially the overtaking on Aleix (Espargaro) and Jack (Miller), which gave me a lot of satisfaction.
I got a good start and pushed right away to get close to the Top5.
I had a very good feeling under braking, thanks also to the work done the day before, and Vale’s advice really helped me.
In the final phase of the race, however, the front tire started to fail, mainly because of the high temperatures, and I had to slow down a bit to preserve the rear tire.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed myself and finally felt the bike-and now I can’t wait to get back on the track!

It was a complicated weekend in Barcelona.
Compared to the last two races where I was back to battle with the top guys, we went back to struggling a lot.
In the FPs I didn’t have the clean riding feeling found in Jerez and with a different grip I found myself really struggling especially under braking.
Then thanks to the work of the guys in the team we managed to fix something, especially in braking, but it wasn’t enough to get into Q2.
Starting behind is difficult, in the Sprint I managed to recover something and we collected data for the race.
Race where I continued to suffer, particularly in corner entry.
If on tracks with good grip like Jerez and Le Mans we were able to find a good setting, we must now focus on finding those same feelings for Mugello, where surely the fans will give a lot of gas….

We arrive at Silverstone energized by the summer break and the knowledge that we have regained a good feeling with the bike.
I was looking forward to getting back on track.
On Friday we manage to hit Q2.
We had several technical problems that prevented us from working well on race pace.
Very complicated qualifying, traffic and yellow flags forced me to a P12 definitely below expectations.

In the SPRINT I start well but I am on the ground in the first corner.
Frank (Morbidelli) hits me in the middle, big blow to the foot, I go to the medical center for checks luckily no fracture but the pain is really bad.
On Sunday I try in the warm up without pain, I know it will be really tough in the race.
Race where all the riders sport liveries dedicated to the 75th anniversary of motoGP.
Ours is dedicated to Vale, the bikes are really spectacular.

Start.
Although I manage to keep a good pace and close in P8 the last laps were a real ordeal, with my leg completely anesthetized.
The feeling was good in the race, this the positive note that we take to the next GP.

Time to give the foot a tune-up and back!