Luca Marini may be firmly placed in his half-brothers MotoGP team, but he has aims of riding for a factory team away from his brothers shadow.
At first many people believed that Luca Marini only got a shot in MotoGP due to his half-brother, Valentino Rossi. However, the 26-year-old has proved everyone wrong in his three years in the class.
Marini has stood on the podium this season and is currently eighth in the MotoGP World Championship. Recently the Italian sat down with AS.com to discuss his aims in MotoGP and whether he believes he can become a MotoGP World Champion.
"I may be in the best moment of my career," stated Marini. "But I am not close to the limit I can reach. I have to work well with the team and at home, to improve in each race.
"I have to enjoy this moment, because I am with the Ducati, which is a competitive motorcycle, with which you can win in every race.
"The next thing is to win a race and then go to a factory team, to develop a good bike that can be perfect for my riding style. Of course, with the Ducati I feel very good."
Marini is under no illusion that his best chance to win the MotoGP title is in the factory squad, which would mean seperating from the VR46 Racing Team. However, Marini would be willing to take the gamble and go his own way to step out of his brothers shadow.
Marini was also asked whether there was ever an offer from Honda to replace Marc Marquez in the Repsol Honda squad.
"Now I have a contract with my team for next season and I have to do a good job," continued Marini.
"Because we have a lot of potential ahead of us, but of course you think as a driver in that position, because it is an incredible position even though now the Honda is not the best bike of the grid. I think Honda will once again have a competitive bike to fight for the World Championship.
"In my current team, I am very professional, working one hundred percent every day, to obtain the best result, but when the time arises I will try to go to a factory team, because I trust myself a lot to develop a motorcycle. I think I have a very good sensitivity that few pilots have. I have many strong points.