Finally your home race. Were you dying to race in your home country again?
“Yes, because for me it means I am at home, racing in front of Japanese fans and the sponsors from my country. It is a special race and I am dying to race at Motegi”.
In the races in Japan, the Japanese riders usually ride very fast. How do you see the race in Motegi?
“It is a circuit that I know very well and I like. Two years ago I got a wild card and I classified on the first row of the grid. Last year, in spite of not getting such a good classification, I felt good, so I will race at Motegi desperate to put in a good performance and get a good result”.
This is turning out to be a difficult year, more so if we take into account the other bikes in the category. How do you see your progression in the last few races?
“This has been a difficult year for us, since Aprilia and KTM have been much faster than last year. Honda on the other hand has improved some things, but the difference has been very big compared to the other makes. Since the race in Jerez there has not been an easy race. I have done my best but I have not got on the podium or got a good result. It has been quite difficult”.
Where must you improve? What are you lacking so that you can progress?
“I have to open the throttle. I have to go faster and taking into account the fact that the bike cannot be improved much more, it is I who has to go faster. It is not easy, but I have to continue learning, improve my riding style, and concentrate on my work so as to understand the bike and the circuits better, and so be up with the leading riders”.
How do you see the 250cc category?
“I think that the level has got better compared to a year ago, and what is more the other makes are faster than last season. I think that it is all at a higher level”.
What are your objectives from now till the end of the season?
“At this moment I am 10th, and the best I can hope for is 6th, so what I want is to climb a position or two. Of course I would like to get a podium finish in every race or even to win, but it is not easy. I will do the best I can, and even that will not be enough sometimes, I have to give all I`ve got in every race”.
The dream of any rider is to compete in the top category. Can you see yourself fighting with Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, etc in MotoGP?
“It is difficult to imagine, because I have never ridden in MotoGP. It is obvious that my dream is to race in MotoGP and I want to do so, but right now I am in 250cc and I have to concentrate on improving in this category where I am now”.
What do you think of the controversy in MotoGP concerning the electronics and tyres?
“I think that MotoGP is similar to Formula 1. To be able to have a chance of winning you need a good bike, good tyres, good sponsors. Without all that it is very difficult to do something good. A few years ago it was different, I think that it was more fun and I liked it more. I would have liked to have ridden a 500cc, because I like the 2 strokes better”.
How long have you lived in Barcelona? What is the most difficult thing for somebody with a culture that is so different from the Spanish one?
“I came last year, that is to say this is my second year. It is completely different from living in Japan, because the two cultures are very different. At the beginning it was very tough, because I did not speak much English let alone Spanish. I only spoke Japanese and it took a lot of time for people to understand anything I said”.
What is the thing you most like about living in Spain?
“I like living in Barcelona, because I can relax, sometimes I have a few days off and I can enjoy them. I like to walk on the Ramblas and go to the Boqueria market, a big market, very colourful, where you can buy all types of meat, fish, ham… anything. I always shop there and then I cook at home because I also like to cook”.
