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TRAVEL FEATURE - ITALY EMILIO SALVATORI ( w ) / CHRISTINA ZOLI ( p )
LAND OF MOTOS
There is a region , albeit small , that is known throughout the world for the passion for the motor racing stars that it has produced . It is Romagna , it is the " Land of Motos ".
If anyone has any doubts , just look at the MotoGP starting grid to erase all doubts . The riders from Romagna are the undisputed protagonists , children of this small region of Italy for having been born here or for having chosen it as an adoptive homeland where they can grow as pilots and as men . Someone once suggested that today the Romagna language is the second most spoken after English amongst the paddock , this is due to a passion that comes from afar , from the 1960s at least , when racing was on the road circuits of the Riviera to open the bathing season in Rimini , Riccione , Cesenatico , Milano Marittima and which took the name of " Mototemporada romagnola ". A passion that fits with the character of these people and explains why so many of the current protagonists of the world motorcycle racing scene were born here , in the cities or small towns in the hinterland where many of todays , and yesterday ' s , champions were born .
Our journey to discover these places begins here , in front of a bust dedicated to a great and unfortunate champion of the past , Renzo Pasolini who , this year marks the 50th anniversary of the tragic accident on the Monza circuit where both he and Jarno Saarinen were taken too early . Rimini and Renzo Pasolini go together , but it is also the birthplace of Pierpaolo Bianchi , a three-time 125 class world champion , as well as some of the current exponents of the MotoGP grid , such as Enea Bastianini ( Ducati MotoGP ) and Marco Bezzecchi ( VR46 ). Rimini is also home to such riders as 2019 MotoE World Champion , Matteo Ferrari ,
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