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Defeated on the pitch and on the track. Sunday and Monday were certainly not two days to remember for Spanish supporters. In addition to their elimination from the Euro 2016 round of sixteen, in Holland the Spaniards were also forced to taste defeat. The only consolation is Marc Marquez's second place, which for him is worth as much as a win. For the rest it was a festival of Italians, with no less than five in the top five positions of the Moto3 race. In the intermediate class, on the other hand, Franco Morbidelli took care of holding the Italian flag high with a third place finish, his first of the season, behind Nakagami and Zarco.
In Qatar the podium was snatched from him because of the early start, but this time no one could take it away from him.
“This time I got up there and I didn't want to come back down (he smiles). It was an intense race where I never yielded a metre. Obviously I am very happy with the result since this is the first podium of the year and I want to get right back in the saddle.”
Instead I'll have to wait three weeks.
“It's a pity. After a positive performance you are really charged up and you want to get back onto the track to achieve another important result. After Barcelona, on the other hand, it was different, maybe the opposite. It was not a lucky race, so as a result maybe you prefer to unplug and recharge your batteries.”
Assen is not one of your favourite tracks, but in free practice and qualifying you were competitive. Was that when you began to have a think about it?
“To be honest, I didn't think much about it, partly because in this first part of the season I had never finished on the podium. But I knew that I could ride a good race, because I had worked a lot on my race pace, building confidence, and I felt fast.”
In 2016 you are a bit up and down. Last year you had a better start.
“That's true. Unfortunately I have been inconsistent in different situations. That is exactly why I will be focusing on consistency from here on out to the end of the championship.”
What were you lacking in this start?
“When you begin an adventure on a new team, I think there are a lot of factors that have an effect. It is never easy to hit the ground running, partly because it is physiological. Maybe in some races the ideal setup was missing, in others, on the other hand, luck played a part.”
After the podium at Assen, how far are you from a win?
“I hope it's the next step. I don't think it is far off. I need to keep my head down and work hard like we have done in this first part of the season. At the moment I am quite placed. I'm lying sixth in the championship, just a few points behind fifth place, which was our initial objective.”
At Barcelona, Salom's passing shook up the Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing championship.
“It's one of those things that you hope never happens. You realise what happened to Luis little by little, because during the race weekend your mind is only on the bike, since we are riders. So you have to refocus immediately. Sometimes you think, you know that it can happen, but riding is the thing that you love to do the most and that we have fun doing, we don't want to give it up.”
Your teammate Marquez is struggling. Is it safe to say that you are the point of reference on the team?
“I think that Alex is a very good and competitive rider and I have nothing but respect for him. He has managed to achieve a goal that I still haven't, in other words, a championship title. Maybe he has struggled in this beginning stage of the season, but I am confident that he will be back battling with the leaders soon.”
Now there will be a three week break. Migno said that you will all celebrate the Assen weekend together.
“To be honest, we don't know if we'll have one dinner or three to celebrate his, Pecco's and my individual results. We'll have to think about it, but I am sure that we'll have fun as we always do.”
