RideFast May 2018

RACE COLUMN AIDAN LIEBENBERG
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Hi everyone. I have just completed the fi rst
offi cial test in Jerez and it was also the fi rst
time we got a chance to ride our bikes
and get it setup for the fi rst race. What an
experience! The level of professionalism of
the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup team is
amazing and no different to one of the top
MotoGP teams.
The test took place over a week from the
Monday to the Friday.
The fi rst day we received our kit and
clothes and we got a chance to meet all
the riders and the whole team. We were
introduced to our rider mechanics. There is
1 professional mechanic for every 4 riders
and then each rider has his own personal
helper who will assist the mechanic for the
rest of the year. We also did some photo
shoots with our new rider gear and we did
the seat adjustment and positioning for
each rider.
Day 2 was when the fun started. We got
to ride the Moto3 for the fi rst time. It is an
incredible motorbike! It is super light but it
also has quite a bit of grunt, so you have
to respect that little Moto3. The fi rst few
sessions I struggled a little bit, getting used
to the bike, but as the day progressed, I
started getting better on the bike. We only
got 3 sessions in on day 2.
Day 3 was the longest day and we got
7 sessions of riding in. Slowly we started
to get better and I started getting more
comfortable on the bike, but I could
only manage 20th position at the
end of day 3 and I left a little
bit disappointed.
Day 4 we spent the whole day fi lming and
doing photo shoots, while the mechanics
and helpers stripped the bikes and got
them all ready for the fi nal day of testing. I
spent a lot of time with the 2 rider coaches,
Gustl and Dani, trying to improve and
getting some advice for the last day.
The last day I was ready to perform and I
wanted to prove myself. I went on out the
fi rst session and I ended up 19th while
riding on my own, so that really boosted
my confi dence and I felt good and ready
for the next session. The second session,
during the race simulation, I unfortunately
had a high speed crash at turn 11 early in
the simulation. Fortunately I wasn’t injured
and we could fi x the bike and carry on
for the rest of the day. It was incredible to
watch how fast the mechanics could sort
out the motorbike and rebuild it. All the
guys improved in that long run while they
were following each other and I fell behind.
Unfortunately I was not able to improve my
time after that crash and ended up 25th on
the time sheets.
I left Jerez disappointed and I feel that I
have a lot more to show, but for now I
will just keep on working hard and try to
improve myself physically, mentally and
on the motorbike. It is a very competitive
championship and the riders are extremely
good. They are defi nitely not going to make
it easy for us this year. We still
have a few weeks
before the fi rst race to try and fi x some of
the problems that I had at the test. I will be
giving it my all at the fi rst race and I think
that we are going to do well.
The fi rst race is on the 5th and 6th of May
in Jerez Spain.
The race can be watched live on the App
www.redbull.tv
Thanks to my SA Sponcers
• Fourways Airconditioning
• JB Levelling
• RideFast Magazine
• Cadence Wapadrand
#redbull #givesyouwings
#redbullrookiescup
84 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE MAY 2018