He is the most successful driver in the category and last year he came close to winning a third title. Do you think the start of this season was a bit more complicated?
I’m not comfortable but we’re always there. We’re three tenths short and it’s true that it doesn’t shine, but we’re close. In the worst case, we are four tenths away. We need to finish understanding the changes made to the category.
That he is the most successful means nothing. In the category there are a number of lions, each one more crazy. I had fun with MotoE. This is a category where everything is bait, everything is direct, there are few stories, you always have to improvise on the track and in the pits. Short races mean zero time to manage or let laps pass. There are no errors. The category is very visceral and it’s something that keeps me alive, it keeps creating a fire inside me.
Do you think the championship and this more visceral racing is silencing the criticism of electricity in the competition?
What shall I tell you? They overwhelm me with that, what I usually hear is when I go back to a motorcycle championship it’s like I’m retired. It doesn’t seem to count. MotoE is a championship with incredible, super fun motorcycles. The motorcycle is technologically advanced. I don’t think it’s 100% the future but it’s an alternative. It won’t replace anything in terms of speed today, but it’s a great alternative for anyone who wants to see a 15-minute knife race. Perhaps this makes more sense in the off-road world due to the issue of pollution and noise.
It just takes more steps for the evolution to continue. There are many difficulties because in Spain we are very ‘old-school’. We prefer the two-stroke, the noise, the presence of grease on our fingernails, the smell of oil… We don’t have to lose it, it’s just another addition. This is a great development bank. There are ax blows, everything goes to the limit, there are ‘sticks’… you couldn’t ask for more.
We should tone down the rage against electric motorcycles. It’s so easy to talk about something you’ve never tried. The clearest example is me. I’m a very old-school biker. I was a biker before I was a pilot. When they proposed MotoE to me, I was the first to hesitate, ‘not my washing machines’, but the fuel’. Everything changed when I took my first lap. I say be careful, it’s like a motorcycle, it works very clean and precise. It’s not worse or better, it’s just different.
You have been in the championship since 2020 and have seen the evolution. What stands out most in the developments in motorcycles?
The most talked about MotoE is the way it rides. In Energia it is sharper and harder to enter a corner, there are no motorcycle dynamics in some places. Now with Ducati what should be highlighted is that it drives exactly the same as a competition. I can enter the curve even with the brakes, hold the gas from the start…
Isn’t the change in driving level that big?
No no. It looks like a normal motorcycle but what is happening is quite heavy. The bike does not want to lean so intuitively and you have to force it. The bad thing is that as soon as the steering wheel is closed a little, there is a small return, it is impossible to save it. But what stands out is the driving. And more than electronic aids. We have a lot of technology that comes from MotoGP and the bike handles very well. Anyone who rides it enjoys it and runs fast.
Last year you returned with the Aspar Team, a team you fought against in Moto2 What does this team have that you haven’t found elsewhere?
What got me here is the confidence and stability that Jorge Martínez Aspar has gained. Not just as a category but because of the school of mechanics, drivers, a circuit was created… there is a whole structure that motivates me to be here now that the end of my career is coming.
Another reason, and the one that moved me the most, is the presence of Nico Terol as sports director. We shared a box in 2013 and 2014 in Moto2. Always friends, colleagues but rivals. We’ll finish any exercise and see what others have done. That intense rivalry brought back great memories and brought me to this day. Having Nico know me and know my weapons and how mental I am is one of the biggest reasons.
What are your next challenges? More than cycling…
For now, MotoE continues to draw me in. I’d like in the next year or two to mix it up with Endurance or another quieter but active category.
Then, when I finish building motorcycles, I actually want to work with kids. I think it’s one of the greatest pleasures, raising them, transferring all my experience to them…
Are we talking about kids who are on the brink of the World Cup or at an earlier age?
Not about getting to the World Cup, no. For me, it’s more satisfying when they’re tadpoles, right from the start. But not only for the children, which is the first half of the job, the other half is educating the parents. Make them understand what world they belong to, what values should be instilled in them and show that the father is a support. In the 5 to 14 year range, the environment is half of everything that works. There may be a child who moves very quickly but if the environment is not good, at the age of 16 he is playing football.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
