The Marinelli Rivacold Snipers team were the latest to launch their 2017 team colours and riders, at the Teatro Rossini in their home town of Pesaro in Italy.
Jules Danilo remains with the re-named outfit for 2017 as he continues to make good progress, with a new teammate for the new campaign in the form of Moto3™ race winner Romano Fenati – who replaces the outgoing Niccolo Antonelli.
Fenati, who was tenth in the standings in 2016 despite not racing after the Austrian GP after parting ways with his previous team, is expected as a key title challenger as the engines fire up in 2017.
Romano Fenati: "This is a team with which I am sure I will be happy. I realized during the tests and on the 2016 Honda, I was immediately at ease. The first few laps I must confess though I'm ashamed to admit, it was hard to get used to the speed! That is, I felt like I had my mum sitting at my side saying "slow down!" but then, lap after lap, I regained security and I got back into it. During the winter I did some special training to strengthen my shoulders, arms and back: I shoveled tons of snow. I’m from Ascoli and between earthquakes and incredible snowfall I haven’t stopped; in my small way, I have tried to help those more in need than me. As for my opponents this year, I think it will be a fight between Italians. Bastianini is definitely in better shape but also Bulega and Di Giannantonio have grown a lot and will be there to fight to win. Then there will be the underdogs, the ones you do not expect. Let's see who it will be this year."
Jules Danilo: "Last year I started the season well but it didn’t end as I expected. Now I definitely want to get back on track. I have been training a lot during the winter in Barcelona, following the specific training regimes, and now it's time to return to work. New team and new colors - and this for me is extra motivation to do well and bring results home. "