On Track Off Road No.184

FEATURE
you know where you are and every year
brings a bit more knowledge and knowing
what to expect. Last year I had a
slightly different way to work and I could
feel it was better during the season: I
had a good feeling for longer and this
was curious. It’s interesting to see where
everybody is but you can notice in other
sports as well that some guys are always
pushing more and more; like there is no
limit for preparation. Sometimes there
are too many questions about what you
could do. It’s important to know what is
good for you and what works.
So it can be easy to get lost…
Yes…but I don’t have this problem. I was
better last year at not being so anxious
and critical. I was stronger in my head in
a good way.
Maybe when you are young you don’t
have the support or the resources of being
an experienced factory rider but you
have the strength and the ‘abandon’ to
attack a race. As you get older that situation
must turn around…
That’s true but I still feel – not the craziness
– but the aggression, and in a good
way. This is also important because you
cannot afford to back-off or be lazy. It’s
true that it is good to have balance and
this is something that really comes with
experience.
Your MotoGP counterpart is probably
Jorge Lorenzo: an athlete with great
technicality that is always striving for
that little bit extra perfection and is
serious and dedicated with how he goes
about it…
That’s good because I’m a fan! I like to
analyse, especially when it comes to
equipment as well. We’ve had a lot of
new stuff recently but I like to evaluate
everything in real detail. I know sometimes
other guys might think ‘he’s crazy…’
to go into the smallest details…