Rule #76 was the inscription that Nicky carried on his chest protector at the Sachsenring. He got it from a film he had seen, Wedding Crashes, where rule #76 says: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion. And that is exactly what Nicky has been doing recently: behaving like a champion, without making excuses or giving up a race as lost until the very last moment.
That is what he did at the Sachsenring after one of his worst Fridays ever, where he had all type of problems with his bike and in the end where he could hardly test.First there was the defective engine, then a fall, and in the afternoon he only had time to make some small changes and then test a couple of tyres. The Saturday was not much better, we had to put the tyres he had liked for the race away and he still had to find the tyres for classification. The truth is that this season is not an easy one at all. All the bikes are going very well, all the riders are riding well, but once again we had to make do with being near the back of the grid. Although for spectators this may be fun because it brings more of a spectacle and overtaking, though those working for the team suffer more than if he starts near the front.
Nicky knew that it would be a tough race, over 30ºC makes it into a real test for the riders and bikes. But without a doubt he went out to do what he knows how to do and what he most likes: to race. And, he put so much into the race, that on a circuit where it is difficult to overtake he went from 14th to 3rd. He was back racing at the highest level, that of a champion. He now only needs to improve in training to show what he is capable of starting from the front of the grid.Dani was also great and I congratulate him.
