A surge in form: How Filippo Farioli is fighting for the podium out of nowhere

It is stories like those of VFT Racing and Filippo Farioli that make motorcycling so fascinating. No one was surprised that, at the start of the season, the 22-year-old managed to finish no higher than 15th. After all, the Italian Yamaha team had never distinguished itself as a top team in its long history and was not exactly rolling in money. Farioli, who finished 19th in the 2024 Moto3 World Championship, moved to MV Agusta in the Supersport World Championship and finished last season in 11th place.

But from Most onwards, the Italian began appearing in the top 10 with increasing frequency and surprised everyone in Cremona by qualifying third and finishing third and fourth in the races. Following his first podium at his home race, Farioli went one better at Estoril, crossing the finish line in second place in the second race.

“Since the tests at Magny-Cours, we’ve taken a significant step forward, which was already evident in the race there. We secured our first podium finish at Cremona, and here at Estoril we’ve managed another,” said Farioli, explaining his surge in performance. “It was a fantastic weekend; I’m really very pleased. We were very quick right from the first lap, and the feel for the bike was excellent. It’s a shame I couldn’t win, because the pace was truly brilliant. At the restart, I tried to give it my all, and the pace was extremely high – it almost felt like a qualifying session. In the last two laps, Jeremy was quicker, and in the end I finished second. I tried right up to the end to secure the win, but I’m still very happy with the result.”

Even 11th place in the first race was impressive, as the Yamaha rider had only emerged from the first lap in 26th place! “Unfortunately, I made a mistake in Turn 7 and went too wide whilst I was in fifth place. So I knew I could be competitive,” said the rider currently 13th in the World Championship. “Overall, it was a really positive weekend. Next up is Jerez, a circuit I consider a bit more complicated and which isn’t one of my favourites. Nevertheless, I’ll try to give it my best and continue this run of positive results that has brought us this far.”

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