Luca Marini, Valentino Rossi's Half Brother, To Make Moto3 Debut at Misano

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

MotoGP.com is reporting that Luca Marini, half brother to nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, will make his Moto3 debut at the Misano round of the MotoGP world championship, Sep. 13-15.

Marini, who recently turned 16, meeting the minimum age requirement required for world championship competition, currently lies second in the Italian Moto3 championship aboard his FTR Honda. He currently has six podium finishes this year, but no victories.

He clearly wants to do well in front of a world audience at Misano, but admits it will be tough battling the KTMs and Mahindras aboard the underpowered Honda. Thankfully, he’ll have the guidance of his superstar half brother to turn to if he needs any advice.

For now, however, Marini, who sports the number 97, has his sights on trying to erase the 23-point deficit keeping him from capturing the Italian championship. From there, he hopes the opportunities will present themselves.

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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