Recap Marco Malone's dominance in the Italian S4
The 2021 racing season for FRT Racing 2 started with major changes compared to previous years. The most evident was the abandonment of S1, where in recent years they had managed to field up to 3 riders, but the intention was to try to win the S4 title, given the encouraging results of 2020. The novelty, however, was the entry into S Junior with Andrea Benvenuti, a tangible sign of wanting to cultivate talent in-house.
For the S4 objective, everything within the team was revised, starting with the signing of Marco Malone, who performed well during 2020.
From the pre-season winter tests, the rider from Abruzzo immediately demonstrated his speed, setting remarkable times and showing excellent feel with the CRF provided by FRT Racing 2.
The first race of the season arrived with Italy in a full pandemic red zone, but thanks to the sports decree, national activities could still take place, and Marco Malone made the Ortona circuit a "red zone" for his opponents with two emphatic victories, propelling him to the top of the standings. And if Marco delivered two almost perfect heats with two nearly perfect sections, the 2020 configuration bike also proved to be among the fastest, if not the fastest, in the lot, a sign that the team had done their homework properly.
The second act brought the Supermoto circus to the Ottobiano track where Malone immediately silenced the naysayers ("he was fast because it was his home track") by once again dominating the competition in the first race and taking a strong second place in the final, still winning the day and making it clear that he was the one to beat for the title.
A month later, the Viterbo track hosted the races, and in Tuscia too, Malone decided he would call the shots. In Race 1, when he was in the lead, he made a mistake that dropped him to third place, and his powerful final comeback failed only because the checkered flag ended the race just as the Abruzzo native had furiously caught up with the leading duo. Learning his lesson, the Abruzzo rider tackled Race 2 "Malone-style," securing his fourth heat victory of the season.
The championship reached its halfway point in mid-summer at the Pomposa circuit, where water fights were rampant in the paddock, and if Ortona was Malone's home, Pomposa was FRT Racing 2's home. For Malone, it was his debut with the 2021 version of the CRF, which he had already used in the first European championship race, and the home advantage proved crucial when the bike needed mechanical work on Saturday. The proximity of the FRT Racing 2 factory was vital to having the bike in perfect shape for the following day's races. These races, for the first time, would see Marco Malone without any victories, but he still managed to secure two valuable second places, which widened the gap in the general standings from his pursuers.
So, almost two months later, we arrived in Latina for the resumption of hostilities, and the championship stakes were starting to get serious. Marco's CRF flew in Race 1, kicking off the final sprint for the title. In Race 2, he started well, took the lead, but when he tried to pull away, he had a spectacular crash that, fortunately, proved to be (almost) bloodless, so much so that the rider resumed the race after freeing his Honda from the safety nets and finished in the back, still taking third place for the day and increasing his lead, albeit slightly, over his pursuers in the standings, who also made mistakes.
The final double header arrived at Castelletto di Branduzzo, where the rider from Teramo had over 250 points advantage and still 1000 to be awarded, with the undeniable advantage of being the only one of the three contenders for the title to control his own destiny. And if on Saturday, with a dry track, Malone secured two third places, watching his pursuers win, on Sunday the unknown of rain further increased the uncertainty. And Race 1 was effectively the decider for the championship, with Malone starting in the lead, but then being overtaken by both direct rivals, who were desperately seeking victories to close the gap. Second places were no longer enough, and in their fight for the lead, both overdid it, crashing and clearing the way for the number 52 CRF450, which crossed the finish line undisturbed in first position, securing the title. The second heat was a mere formality, with Marco Malone allowing the top three to pull ahead, comfortably controlling his position and staying away from dangerous duels. Thanks to another slip by a rider ahead of him, he secured a podium finish, which allowed him to celebrate winning the Italian Supermoto S4 class title.
Congratulations then to Marco Malone, who dominated large parts of the season, being the rider with the most victories (6 out of 14 heats) and capable of scoring points in all races. But a few words must also be said for FRT Racing 2's first success; as a "family-run" team, they managed to excel against theoretically much more experienced outfits. The mastermind Nicola Ferranti, a former rider, skillfully managed operations on the track, providing Malone with the perfect tools to win the title. He was inextricably supported by "team principal" Gilda Benazzi, who handles the bureaucratic and logistical aspects of the team, and by Cristian Ercolesi, acting as mechanic.
FRT Racing 2's success is the result of the purest combination for success in any sport: hard work and passion.
Photos and text by Marco Rimondi
