World Championship 2004

Repsol riders on holidays
Three-week break to regain strength and prepare the intense second half of the 2004 season
After nine GPs staged so far, 18 free practices, 18 qualifying practices and eight countries visited, the World Championship has reached its halfway point and finally the well-deserved summer holidays. In fact, we speak about holidays but in reality, we should be talking about a couple of days to rest, that, for most of the riders, are nothing but a small ‘break’ in the Championship to heal the wounds of the battles, regain strength and make a balance of the first half of the season. We talked to the Repsol riders in England to know their plans for the coming weeks. NICKY HAYDEN What are your plans for the holidays? ‘The season so far hasn’t been the way I would have liked, so I don’t think that I should be rewarding myself with big vacations. After England I’ll go home to the States and work-out a lot to get back stronger.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘No, there’s not much time left for inactivity, but to dedicate some time to yourself and disconnect a bit from the pressure and the press. I’ll keep on training to keep my physical shape. The season is being hard and we shouldn’t neglect the physical shape.’Do you miss racing during holidays? ‘Of course, I’m a race rider! A couple of weeks of rest are good, but I’m sure that after some days at home I’ll be looking forward to get back, counting the days to Brno.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘There are a lot of positive things to highlight. We didn’t have a good start, but the motorbike, the team and I have been working hard and we’ve been improving race by race. We keep on fighting and we won’t give up.’What’s been the best so far? ‘Two consecutive podium finishes have been highly satisfying.’¿And the worst? ‘Probably the mechanical problem we had in Barcelona. I felt very motivated and I was convinced of being able to get on the rostrum, but we had bad luck.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘The latest races have been better, but what I’m really looking for is my first victory in the class. Podium finishes are good, but I want more. We’re working hard and I’m sure that we’ll get back stronger after the break.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘Victory. The bike is working well; I only want to get good results to get more confidence. I can make it.’ ALEX BARROS What are your plans for the holidays? ‘I’m going to spend these days in Brazil – it’s winter now, over there – with my family. My son does kart racing, so I’ll join him at the training or at races. I’ll basically use the holidays to be with my family. I also have my office there so I’ll have a look around to see how everything is going. I also want to see if my new prepared car is ready to start having fun with it.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘No, not at all, in fact I don’t call these days holidays. They are only a couple of days to rest before restarting activity. The season hasn’t finished yet, so we have to keep on working, focussed and not neglecting the physical shape. It would be different if we were talking about November, then we may be talking about holidays. It’s too early.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘Maybe after two weeks. I don’t at the beginning, because I get back home, with my children, my family…But once you’ve spent two weeks only working out, away from the races, you start missing it.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘It hasn’t been a good first half. I expected much more. I wasn’t physical at a hundred percent at the beginning and I had to be patient, but two or three races later, when I began to feel well, the crashes came and the lack of good results.’What’s been the best so far? ‘Racing with the Repsol Honda Team, any rider’s dream come true.’¿And the worst? ‘With no doubt, the crashes, that hindered us from getting better results.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘Good ones, I hope. I personally think that things are going to be better in the second half. We started with some problems, but things started to get better in Germany already. I can’t tell the same about last Sunday in England, but things went well during practice. So I think that the prospects are good.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘We have good power, but what I would really like is a little bit more traction and the bike turning better in angles.’ RUBEN XAUS What are your plans for the holidays? ‘Everyday is a holiday for me! I have several plans but nothing definite. First I’ll spend some days at home, to see the family and friends. Then I’ve planned a trip to the USA, actually to San Antonio, to visit some good friends and then to Los Angeles, invited by one of my sponsors, the X-Games (Supercross, supermotard, skate, BMX…). Then I’ll come back and spend some days in Alicante and in Andorra before going to Brno.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘Holidays means calmness, but I like sports and everywhere I go I look for a fitness centre to workout a couple of hours. If I don’t workout I don’t feel well, it’s like brushing your teeth or eating, it’s part of every day life. I also do Supermotard, wakeboard, paddle… The truth is that I hardly ever stop.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘It isn’t a long break. A little bit less than three weeks and I won’t stop at any moment. Last year I had a one and a half month holiday and I really felt it. From the physical and the mental point of view it’s better for me if the races are one immediately after the other. You’re more tired but you don’t have time to get distracted. The hardest part is that you’re hardly ever at home.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘I entered the ‘big circus’, and I’m positively surprised because I’ve met a lot of marvellous people that have treated me very well. When I arrived, my credentials were of a little irregular rider but I’ve proven that I’m a good rider. I’ve been riding among the best and my aim was and still is to learn every day. I wanted to get on this bike and I made it. I’m in a small team, not a factory team like the one I was used to be when I raced on Superbikes the last four years, but I’m satisfied, happy and having fun. We’ve made better and worse races, but always fighting, trying to finish in the points.’What’s been the best so far? ‘Having been able to lead a MotoGP race in Mugello, even if it was only a bit over a lap, and having been able to race in Barcelona in front of my people. Making all those who followed me before feel a bit prouder of me. When they speak about Ruben Xaus now, the others know who they’re talking about.’¿And the worst? ‘The bad luck I had during the first races and the suffering during the last races because I didn’t know the circuits. We had progressed a lot since the start of the season and it seems that we’ve got a bit stuck lately. The bike is not a new bike, it’s last year’s bike and it’s normal to have some trouble. In addition, those are bikes that have been ridden by people that didn’t know them either and that have been in other people’s hands. It’s like a second-hand car, it always has something…’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘Very similar to the beginning of the season. There will be some difficult and some easier races. What I have to do is to keep on working hard. I’ll try to be among the top ten on the tracks I know and to learn and avoid mistakes to try to score on those I don’t know.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘I want everything to work out fine. I won’t ask for a better bike because I couldn’t make the right use of it now, but maybe I would ask for more softness and a better traction.’ SEBASTIÁN PORTO What are your plans for the holidays? ‘Flying back to Argentina to spend two weeks there. Now it’s winter there, not as in Europe but what I really want to do is to relax and spend some time with my family. I spend a lot of time away during the year and I look forward to being all together. I don’t know if I’m going to do anything else, travelling to some other place, or so. Anyway I’m going to be in my city, at home, resting and training a bit.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘It depends, in my case. Now I have to work because of an injury I suffered during the practices in Mugello that hasn’t recovered yet. I haven’t been able to work much because of that problem and although I’m not in a bad physical shape, I’m not at a 100%. I’ll also try to rest a bit and charge the batteries.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘A bit, yes. But we also need to rest because it’s a very tight calendar this year. These three weeks are going to be good for us to relax and to start the second half of the season completely renewed. It is true that you miss a bit the atmosphere and especially the motorbike, but I’ll try to enjoy the holidays.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘The balance so far is positive, but we have to wait until the end of the season. The first part has been good; I managed to win two races and take five poles of eight. Maybe the bike hasn’t been as regular as expected but those things happen. Now we have to concentrate to make it during the second half, to keep on fighting for the Championship until the end.’What’s been the best so far? ‘The victories of course. The first came in Mugello, in a very special moment. Until the Italian Grand Prix, Honda had taken the victory in three consecutive races, but in Mugello, home of Aprilia, we managed to win. The victory in Assen was very important as well due to the meaning of winning on a track with so much history. We’ve made a good job overall.’¿And the worst? ‘The worst, may be the bike’s irregularity. In France, the bike didn’t work the way it should and then I crashed during the race. Things didn’t work out well in Barcelona either and we didn’t have much luck in Brazil because the bike broke down a few laps before the finish. Excluding these three races, the bike has worked more or less and we’ve been among the top three. We’ve always been very competitive.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘The aim is still the Championship, there are many mathematical chances yet open. There’s a 52 points gap that won’t be easy to close, but it is not impossible. I also hope to have a bit more luck, because we haven’t had much yet. From now to the end we may fail some races but I’m sure that we’ll be in the fight.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘We have to work a bit harder; Aprilia knows it, but the main problem is the difference in weight. I would ask for a bit of balance. Right now 80 to 90% of the teams are in the same situation. There’s nothing we can do this year, but I hope that there’s a possibility to change the regulations for next year. I would ask everybody to push in order to balance the class, to avoid so many differences, the best will be able to make their job on the track then.’ FONSI NIETO What are your plans for the holidays? ‘I’m not going very much relaxed on holidays because the season hasn’t been good at all, so we have to stay on guard. I’ve planned to go some days to Ibiza with Javi, my personal trainer and work on the physical aspect.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘No, these are no holidays for me. It’s only a three weeks break you can use to recover and prepare yourself mentally for the second half. Holidays are in November, when the World Championship has finished, now we are in the middle of the season.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘Yes, during the summer break, during the holidays in November, when there are two weekends without races… I always miss the races. If you’d ask me, we would be racing the 16 races in a row, one after the other.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘Bad. It obviously could have been worse, because it always can be worse, but I’m not at all satisfied, I’d like to be much more in the front. I know I can do it, but right now I just can’t make it.’What’s been the best so far? ‘My position in the overall standings despite all the problems we’ve had. And the support of the fans when we raced in Jerez.’¿And the worst? ‘I don’t feel comfortable on my bike and that turns every practice and every race into suffering, because I don’t enjoy riding.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘We’ll try to fix all the problems we have and we’ll try to make me feel comfortable on the bike again. If we manage to do so, the prospects are good.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘Five additional horsepower.’ PABLO NIETO What are your plans for the holidays? ‘My plans are to spend six days in Ibiza and then the rest of the holidays in Tarifa, doing water sports and resting.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘No, on the contrary, since we have three weeks free, I’ll use them to take care of the physical aspect. We haven’t worked out at all during the last two weeks, because we had two races in a row. So I’ll first have a bit of rest to let the body recover and then I’ll get back to physical training.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘Yes, two days after I’ve arrived at home I start missing the races, the team, the paddock atmosphere, the excitement of competing and everything around the World Championship.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘Average, due to the little luck we’ve had in some races, letting escape some good results.’What’s been the best so far? ‘The best? That the team has given 100%, supporting me with all their means in the eight races staged so far.’¿And the worst? ‘The bad luck that has been following us at some races, hindering us from getting better results and some victory.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘The prospects? Well, to keep on working, following the right path, as we have been doing so far and trying to fight for a place on the podium and the victory in every race.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘With no doubt some more horsepower’ SERGIO GADEA What are your plans for the holidays? ‘Training hard because we’re going to have many races in a row and little time to physically recover. I also had a training stop that put me out of shape. I first want to use some time to workout and then take a week to disconnect from motorbikes and relax. I might be going to Brazil but I haven’t decided anything yet.’Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme? ‘It usually means resting but in my case, as I already said, it’ll mean working.’Do you miss the races during holidays? ‘I do. I don’t like to stop for a long time, especially when things are getting better. That’s when you’re eager to get back on the track and show that you’re able to be there.’Make a balance of this first half of the season. ‘It’s been good but there’s always the possibility to do better. I had a bit of trouble getting used to the bike and finding the right setup; but the important thing is that we’ve found it. We changed the frame geometry in Brazil and things went quite well, although I crashed in the race. In Germany we were able to confirm that the setup was very good.’What’s been the best so far? ‘That I’ve found the right setup.’¿And the worst? ‘Not having found the setup earlier.’Prospects for the rest of the season. ‘Being regularly within the Top Twenty and scoring in as many races as possible. This year’s aim was to learn the circuits and work as much as possible for next year, which will be the really important one, standing out as much as possible.’If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be? ‘Scoring.’