Coma: In the Baja Aragón, the most important thing is to maintain a fast pace during the whole race.

Marc Coma, the winner of the 2004 edition of the Baja Aragón, returns to the most charismatic off road race in Spain. This year on two wheels, after trying his luck in a car last year. With his eyes fixed on the 2008…
The Baja Aragón is a special race. What are its main characteristics?The Baja Aragón is the most important Off-road race here in Spain. It is a race that is a little special since it has no navigation and is very different from what we normally do.What is the most important in a race of this type?Speed is important. It is a race with arrows, that is to say, with signs that indicate the route and so there is no navigation. The most important thing is to maintain a fast pace during the whole race.The Baja is a a very different race; without sand, on a terrain that is so different, and what is more you are riding a different bike from the one you used in the Dakar…. What exactly is this race?The main difference is that since there is no navigation in Bajas, we do not mount all the aids that we use in other dates. This lets us use a lighter smaller bike. Moreover, the distance between assistance zones is 120km-130km, and that allows us to carry less petrol. The base of the bike is the same as the one for Raids, but it is called Motorbike for Bajas, because it is adapted to this type of race, the tank is not so big as those for the Rally bike and there are no navigation aids.Because of your riding style how do you plan to tackle this race?The Bajas are a type of race that is not our speciality, but we have spent the last three weeks prepararing for it to see if we can tackle it with a guarantee of doing well, so that we achieve a good result.Your main objective of the season is the Dakar. The races you do during the season are to prepare this date in depth. To race in the Baja what aspects of your preparation are you working on the most?  The Baja Aragón, with respect to the Dakar, does not help out very much. It is an  important race here in Spain where you have to try and do the best you can. But as a preparation for the Dakar, the truth is is that they cannot be compared. But it is a date that is held on home soil and we always like to be close to our fans.Can you let us know whether the bike for the next Dakar will have any big changes compared to the one you used last year?Not too many, because last year it was a completely new machine, but this year it will just be an evolution of last year`s. The changes that it will have will concentrate on solving the minor problems we had last year.At this moment in time how do you feel physically?At this moment I am fine. After having had the first part of the year quite full of races, I have had a calmer season. I have been able to prepare for the Baja well; for me it requires quite a lot of time for preparation, since it is not a speciality that I normally practice.Last year you raced in the Baja at the wheel of a car, but it was not a good experience because of the mechanical problems you experienced. Do you still want to race this date in a car? The truth is that the Baja is a race that I have never particularly liked. I do like to do it in a car though. What happened last year was a pity, because it was a fun project and as happens a lot in races, it did not turn out so good. We will try our luck again in the future, but it is not something that I want to think about at the moment. The important thing is to concentrate on this race, on my bike and that`s all.