Repsol riders on summer holidays.
Biaggi, Hayden, Porto, De Puniet and Pedrosa ready to recharge batteries before Brno.
MAX BIAGGI
– What are your plans for the holidays?
‘I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’ll go home and then I’ll get organised and decide what I do. I still haven’t made any plans for holidays because that’s what they are, holidays.’
– Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or are you going to continue working-out?
‘I’ll obviously continue working-out. That’s something I never neglect. Not only because it’s necessary to keep the shape but also because I love doing sports. I’ll try to combine gym exercises with outdoor sports like bicycle riding. But above all it has to be something that doesn’t involve risks and that helps me to keep in shape to arrive in Brno in perfect conditions.’
– Do you miss the races during holidays?
‘A bit.’
– Conclusions after the first half of the season.
‘The truth is that it’s been a quite bad, difficult start and without any explanation or answer.’
– What has been the best so far?
‘Only the race in Mugello. But there the bike worked almost perfectly well.’
– And the worst?
‘The rest. I’m very demanding with myself and with everything that surrounds me, but something must be happening if we’re always having trouble, both during practice and the race. As a rule, I’ve been on the second and third row during practices but I’ve even been 16th. I haven’t probably forgotten how to ride a bike, have I? I can only say that the bike doesn’t work, what I don’t know is how the others work.’
– Perspectives for the rest of the season.
‘If there’s no improvement in the next races, there will be nothing left to do. But I’m sure that our results are going to get better, with no doubt we’re going to do everything we can and fight hard to make it.’
– If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
‘I would want to improve our problem with the front end which is causing so many headaches.’
NICKY HAYDEN
– What are your plans for the holidays?
‘After this race I’m going to fly right away to the US. I got a lot to do and the first thing is trying to organise my calendar. I’ll spend holidays at home, we all need some holidays and I’m going to spend them with my folks. It’s not really going to be holidays but I’ll try to disconnect a bit, relax and get ready for the next race.’
– Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or are you going to continue working-out?
‘I’ll obviously continue working out-it’s extremely important to do some exercise in order not to loose shape. I guess I’ll go bicycle riding with my brothers, that’s a good way to keep in shape and have fun. I’ll also go to the gym and do some motocross on the track at home to keep specific shape for the motorbike.’
– Do you miss the races during holidays?
‘A bit, yes. It’s hard not to think about it if you like it so much. A couple of days after you start holidays you are already looking forward to getting back on the track. I’m glad it’s only three weeks.’Conclusions after the first half of the season. ‘
– We’ve been progressing but I really hoped that it would be a bit better.
China, Portugal and Donington, were bad races, with a lot of rain. If we wouldn’t consider those races I would be much better placed in the championship. If I would have held on three more laps, I could be second in the championship… Anyway, I’m happy because we’ve been moving forward. You always want to do it better, be more competitive, score more points, win, but I’m happy because I’ve learned a lot.’
– What has been the best so far?
‘With no doubt my first victory, which in addition was in Laguna Seca. It was a really special moment.’
– And the worst?
‘I’d say the Estoril race. I felt really bad that weekend. The first two races of the season were hard for me; the crashes made me feel very low. But now we’ve taken off and I hardly even remember.’
– Perspectives for the rest of the season.
‘Definitively another victory. I need to win again to show that Laguna Seca was no coincidence. I had the feeling I would make it at Sachsenring but I didn’t, although I was very close.’
– If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
‘I’d ask for more races. This first half of the season has passed much too fast, there are only seven races left! I’d like to go back to Laguna or maybe Germany before finishing the season.’
RANDY DE PUNIET
– What are your plans for the holidays?
‘There’s nothing sure yet. For the moment, going back home and maybe going for a couple of days to America. What I really want now is to have a bit of rest, relax and analyse what has happened during this first part of the season to return into action in top shape at Brno.’
– Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or are you going to continue working-out?
‘I’ll keep on working out. I don’t want to stop doing exercise, the season hasn’t finished yet and I want to be in top shape and focussed until the end of the season. I like all kinds of sports, so I’ll ride my bicycle, do some jogging, play soccer, go to the gym… a bit of everything. Maybe not as hard as usual, but I’ll continue with the same working plan.’
– Do you miss the races during holidays?
‘Not much. I guess that if the holidays were longer I would miss them, but with so little time you hardly notice that they’re over and you’re back on the motorcycle.’
– Conclusions after the first half of the season.
‘I’m only happy with two or three races this season so far. The truth is that I was hoping for much more, but we’ve had a lot of problems. I won in Donington and finished sixth in Germany, it hasn’t been such a good result, but the feelings were, so I hope to be able to follow this line until the end.
– ‘What has been the best so far?
‘The contended victory in Donington and the second place in Le Mans. I didn’t win, but I did a very good race.’
– And the worst?
‘All the crashes, which have been many, and going home with no points at all on more than one occasion.’
– Perspectives for the rest of the season.
‘I think I can do much better from now until the end of the season. The aim is taking as many victories and podium finishes as possible to finish the championship as much in the front as possible. After the holidays, we’re going to visit fast tracks, which in principle are favourable for the Aprilia.We can make a great end of the season.’
– If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
‘A little bit more luck, because we haven’t had much so far. I hope the mechanical aspects and the weather do not play another trick on us.’
SEBASTIÁN PORTO
– What are your plans for the holidays?
‘Going back to Argentina and staying there until the races start again. It’s been a long time since I last went home and I’m really looking forward to. There I’ll be able to rest and disconnect, be with my family and friends… in short, have some holidays.’
– Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or are you going to continue working-out?
‘Although in Argentina, I’ll keep on working-out. What ‘s more, my personal trainer is already waiting for me there. On holidays, you try to disconnect from racing and rest, but without neglecting your physical shape. My plan is to do a bit of everything, combining gym with outdoor sports, such as bicycle riding or jogging.’
– Do you miss the races during holidays?
‘In such a short period of time, the truth is that there’s not much time left to miss them. But I miss them a lot during the period of inactivity at the end of the season. You need a bit of rest, especially after two consecutive races that have been so hard. The start of the season has been hard as well, so these weeks of rest will be good for us.’
– Conclusions after the first half of the season.
‘Not bad, although it hasn’t been what we expected and wanted at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, there have been several Grand Prix where the bike didn’t work well. The bike went perfect at only one Grand Prix, the Dutch GP. I’ve been able to show that if the bike works well we’re in the front, but fortunately there are still a lot of races left.’
– What has been the best so far?
‘The best was our victory in Assen. Winning there again for the second year in a row, was something incredible. There have been other very good things, although the final result didn’t show it.’
– And the worst?
‘France, Mugello, Catalunya… We’ve had problems in many races.’
– Perspectives for the rest of the season.
‘Keep on working; there are still a lot of races left and scores ahead. The aim is to score as many points as possible from now until the end of the season to finish the championship as much in the front as possible. We are a bit far from Pedrosa already; but not that much from the second, so I’ll do my best to pass him. I hope this second part of the season will bring us more joy than the first one and that we’re able to have that regularity we have missed so much so far. We’re now going to circuits which are favourable for the Aprilia, where I won last year, so I hope to be able to repeat. I’ll give it all, as always and I hope that the bike allows me to.’
– If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
‘I’d ask for no problems, for the bike to work like it has to. I also hope for better weather conditions to be able to show what we can do.’
DANI PEDROSA
– What are your plans for the holidays?
‘Have some rest for a couple of days, be calm and recharge energies for the rest of the season which is going to be hard. Now I want to enjoy the summer and then get ready for the Brno race. I’ll try to go to the beach some days, to see if I can refresh a bit and have a rest, that’s something I deserve as well.’
– Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or are you going to continue working-out?
‘Holidays mean relax, though it doesn’t mean inactivity or continuing with the plan you have throughout the season. I’ll continue doing some exercise because you shouldn’t neglect that, but a little softer.’
– Do you miss the races during holidays?
‘I don’t know yet, but I think that there won’t be days enough to miss them.’
– Conclusions after the first half of the season.
‘We’ve been quite regular, except for two races, were we had some problems. In general terms I think that we’ve done a good job, you could see it on the track. There is still almost half of the season left, so we have to stay on this line to reach our aim, the championship title. This year, even if many people don’t believe it, is being very hard and contended; we can neither be over-confident nor loose our way.’
– What has been the best so far?
‘The races I’ve won. Maybe Jerez and Mugello, those are the ones I keep the best memories of.’
– And the worst?
‘I’d say the race in Portugal.’
– Perspectives for the rest of the season.
‘Following our working line and keeping the regularity that has given us so good results so far.’
– If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
‘Good weather.’
