About to start your second Dakar, how are you concerning both motivation and strength?
My motivation could not be better. I am very pleased to be in the Dakar and I can`t wait to start. I am aware that it is a tough race and that something unforeseen always happens and it is going to be very complicated, but my motivation is sky high and I hope to do it well.
What is it like with one of the toughest races in the last few years in store for you?
This is also a challenge. The truth is that it motivates you. All sportsmen are gluttons for punishment as we like things to be tough and I think it is going to be one of those Dakar races that we have not seen for some time. I cannot say that it will be fun, because we have a hard time, but it is a challenge. If it is very difficult and we manage to finish it will be a real achievement. Moreover to learn it is better if it is a tough one.
During the year you have been able to race in the World Championship and you allso won the Spanish Motorallye Championship. Is this a good way to train for what you will find in Africa?
No, good training would be to do the whole World Championship and things related to the roadbook. I was only able to go to Tunisia this year, and I did other races in Spain, which is totally different from Africa. But well I am sure that it is all going to help in some way.
You rode on this motorbike in the Rally Tunisia and now you have trained on it. Are you ready to do 9 000km?
Yes. That is clear, because in addition to it being a bike that goes very well it makes things easy when you want to do many things. Now we just have to start.
You have shown many times that you are a fast and strong rider, but there is another facet that you have not done before. How good are your navigation skills?
We will try to learn from Jordi Arcarons and my teammates. I think I have improved, but I still have a lot to learn. For example, Marc does 40 000km a year navigating, and I do 3 or 4 000km. I am much better than the first time, and so I am pleased, because I am also going to do the Dakar knowing how to use a roadbook alone, which is the most important thing. I will go at the speed that I have right now so that I will be able to follow the roadbook, not very fast really but it means I can follow it and that is how you learn.
How does the preparation that you are doing with the Team Repsol KTM seem to you?
Very well. The truth is that you really notice the change to a professional team and the organisation is incredible. Everything that is needed, and more, is foreseen and every aspect is worked on. The experience of all the team members is very important to get the objectives you set yourselves.
Now that you are in an official team, how does this training compare with a private team?
The difference in this team is that things are much better planned. The fact that Jordi Arcarons and the other riders have the experience that they have means that they foresee things much better. The organisation is very serious, the work is very strict and a clear team objective is what we work towards. There are many aspects that I had never touched on before, such as the psychology and the navigation, and now I have a chance to work with Jordi Arcarons on the roadbook. I had not studied the mechanics either. There are many things that I had not studied and so I can now go to the Dakar in a calmer state of mind.
What objectives have you set yoursellf for the Lisbon Dakar 2008?
Objective number one is to reach Dakar. The fact that you arrive means that you have gained a lot of experience and that you have learnt a lot, and if Marc or Jordi need me, I will have been able to help them. Personally, the objective will be to improve, start calmly and as the days pass see that I am improving. That is the most important, and all this without having to go for a result.
What are your objectives day by day?
Now I can read and guide myself with the roadbook, so I will be reading every day and will be able to improve and speed up as I read, understanding it at the same time. This is how I will be able to improve right up to the end of the race.
What is the reason for a rider to accept a challenge of the Dakar?
That is something you have deep inside you, or you don`t. Somebody does not come up to you and say “Do you want to go?”. It might happen, but in my case my dream even when I was a small boy, was to race the Dakar. Watching it on TV I told my father that some day I would like to be be there. That is something you have inside you and luckily I am now here.
