Aragon WorldSBK: Michael Rinaldi: “I don’t know if my future depends on Marc Marquez, news in Portimao”

Michael Rinaldi says an announcement on his WorldSBK future could come at next weekend’s Portimao round.
Michael Rinaldi, Ducati WorldSBK Aragon 2023
Michael Rinaldi, Ducati WorldSBK Aragon 2023

Rinaldi has been linked with a move to both Motocorsa Ducati and the factory Honda team, after losing his Aruba.it Ducati ride to Nicolo Bulega.&nb♍sp;

The Italian, who claime🉐d his first win of 2023 and first in two years at A♍ragon during Race 1, is only the fourth different rider to have won this season.

Now a five-time race winner 🌃in WorldSBK, Rinaldi’s future could be impacted by what ha꧂ppens with Marc Marquez in MotoGP.

If Marquez leaves for Ducati then a seat at Honda will open, but if♔ the eight-time world champion stays put then Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge could both be retained by the Japanese brand.

Rinaldi admitte♛d a decision regarding his future could be made at next weekend’s Portimao round, saying: "This is interesting. I don’t know if my future depends on Marquez but ෴I think we are close to what I want, and to sign where I want to. 

"We are close and I think that 🐻in Portimao there will be news."

Although Rinaldi was unable to replicate his last race performance of Race 1 by♐ overtaking Toprak Razgatlioglu, the Italian did manage to secure a second consecutive podium in the feature-length race. 

"It has been a really positive weekend for us," said Rinaldi. "Talking about the Superpole Race, we didn’t have the pace to stay with the fro🍌nt group but we were able to finish in the top five, which is good. 

"In Race 2, like yesterday I decided to manage the t🦂yre to arrive at the end of the race with a li๊ttle bit more grip. 

"The strategy was ok but as soon as I caught Locatelli and Toprak𓆉,ꩵ Locatelli’s bike started to lose some oil and a lot of smoke from the engine. 

"Toprak was able to overtake him a☂n𒉰d I wasn't, so I lost two seconds on that lap and the possibility to fight Toprak for second was gone. 

"But it’s okay because ๊it is another podium and a really strong performance. I’m happy. My focus 🦩is to try and fight for the podium in every race. 

"In Magny-Cours we were really strong and a little bit unlucky on Sunday, but 🎃we are always th💞ere fighting for top positions."

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