You can give the matter many thoughts. You can travel the entire world, visit all the circuits, talk to historical two-wheeled champions and even non-historical ones. Everyone will tell you that they have never seen anything like it. Nobody ran like he ran American Randy Mamola (San Jose, California, 64). Nobody. Then they came Kevin Schwantz until it emerged Marc Márquez.
But Randy, as the whole world knows him, was special. He was, is, so great, unique, that he is at the level of the champions despite not having won any title. Of course, being four-time 500cc world runner-upwith three different brands: Suzuki (1980 y 1981), Honda (1984) y Yamaha (1987). Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, bikers in general, before you the great Randy Mamola.
How do you see the MotoGP World Championship?
Exciting, right? Very exciting, yes. Very beautiful to see as a fan, as a spectator. Tremendously competitive, with a level of motorcycles and riders like never before, for quality and quantity. It is very easy, very easy, to see continuous changes in position and, above all, many relays at the front of each race or of the championship itself. It is easy to see any of the champions ahead, winning or getting on the podium.
“This year the MotoGP title will be for the rider who has the most ‘brain’, for the rider who does not rush, for the most clever, sagacious and intelligent. There are many races and points are distributed. And everyone has already made a mistake”
Do you think there are more candidates for victory this year than ever?
Well, I don’t think it’s just me, does it? There is ‘Pecco’ (Bagnaia); Bastianini and Bezzecchi, who are returning to what they were from last year; a very fast Martín; Viñales, which has had great weekends, like the one in Austin (Texas, USA); Acosta himself, what a rookie! Or Brad Binder, KTM’s chief theorist. And let’s not say Marc (Márquez), at the controls of a winning motorcycle. There is a lot of tension, it is palpable even from the outside, because a lot is at stake in each race, be it the ‘sprint’ on Saturdays or the GP on Sunday. And, on top of that, both KTM and Aprilia, who have already won, are beginning to rub shoulders with Ducati.
It seems that this year it will cost a little more for ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia to renew his title.
Well, last year Jorge (Martín) made it very difficult for himself and until the last date he did not win the title. But yes, it’s true, ‘Pecco’, winner of the last two championships, no longer has a single rival, but a lot of them with very good motorcycles. There are no longer just two drivers looking for victory each weekend, there are seven or eight looking to win it all.
Who do you think will win this year?
This World Championship will be won by the rider who has the most brains, because this year, with so many good bikes, so many candidates, so many races and so many points to distribute, the strategy, the sagacity on the bike, the reflection that each rider makes in the middle of the race, Calculating whether or not to risk, whether or not it is time to take a chance, studying your rivals at every moment, will be what, in the end, gives you the title or the possibility of getting it. At the moment, no one dominates, no one sweeps away. Ok, Ducati is still the best bike, but others are already winning, other bikes.
Randy Mamola rests, gracefully, on his scooter during a break from training. / ALEJANDRO CERESUELA
According to you, it will all be a matter of ‘coco’.
That, as you say, the ‘coco’ This year it will be essential not to rush. The champion will be the one who best drives all the weekends in full. You have to learn to choose the moment. No one will be able to dominate every weekend. Nobody. There will be races where you will not be able to win, but in which scoring will be vital for the classification. Points, points and more points. I know that, from the outside, it is easy to advise them ‘stay there, score, don’t try, score’, but it is very difficult to reflect like that when you are on the bike at 350 km/h.
Will mistakes this year be more expensive than ever?
I don’t think so, mistakes are always paid for. We’re only four weekends in and everyone’s been wrong, everyone, which is pretty incredible, right? Not only has Marc, who has his new motorcycle, or ‘Pecco’, who is a two-time champion, or Martín, who is runner-up and the first candidate to take the throne from him, made a mistake, it’s that everyone has made a mistake. Well, except Pedro Acosta, who has shown incredible solidity for a rookie in MotoGP.
The era in which the big favorites won with five, six or seven seconds ahead of the second is over.
Well yes, yes, that’s what I think when I see ‘Pecco’ show all his power and then, in the same race, on the same weekend, show certain weaknesses, which, surely, are detected by his rivals. And if what you want is to beat him, you must know when the champion is weak and when he is not. And, yes, I think the time of easy winning is over.
“I think Marc still lacks a point of confidence, of ease, with his Ducati, but soon he will be able to ride and express himself on the track like the aggressive and determined Marc that we saw when he won with the Honda”
What catches your attention the most about this start to the World Cup?
I know that for the fan it is difficult to understand, but the surprising behavior of the tires in the race, when, suddenly, they overheat and the pressure changes when they are close to the one in front or when they force the pace. That will be, in my opinion, what will make us continue to see surprising results every weekend. It drives me crazy when I hear them say, at the end of the race, that they had to cut off the gas and slow down, because the tire was on fire. The pilots, who are constantly calculating and paying attention to a million details, were only missing that strange variant.
What impression do you have of Marc Márquez on a Ducati?
Great, of course. Like everyone, right? He says that he has already finished his adaptation to the Ducati, from last year, let’s not forget this detail, but I think that he still does not ride it the way he wants, he is still not able to do with it what he wants, what he wants. I did with a Honda much worse than this Ducati.
He doesn’t feel comfortable at all.
Look, if I were comfortable, if I really had it in hand, many of the overtakes or attempted overtakes this year against ‘Pecco’ or Jorge would have been successful, because I would have done them by instinct. When you see how Bagnaia handles the Ducati, making it slide off the rear wheel when entering the corner, without forcing the front wheel like Marc still forces it, you understand that Márquez still needs to improve. ‘Pecco’ is very, very fine, piloting the ‘Desmosedici’. That degree of confidence entering corners is what Marc lacks.
“I don’t like motorcycles going at 350 km/h. I think that the races, the show and overtaking at 303 km/h are just as spectacular and, with a little less top speed, we will reduce the risk”
Do you see him as champion this year?
He is already with them, but his time has not yet come, but I think he will soon reach it. His moment will come when he is there, in front, with them, without being forced, going loose, when he deeply knows the tricks of his Ducati, that he has them, to play with. And knowing that he can beat them in his style, in his way. But, be careful! The last lap is always Marc’s. In that, he remains unique.
Where do you see it next year? On what bike, on what team?
I don’t care where he goes, what bike he races on, what team he signs for, I want to continue enjoying Marc watching him race against everyone. I want to continue seeing him active, running, excited, smiling, because I really enjoy seeing him do things that no one else does. Well, not even the others try.
What do you think of the criteria with which the MotoGP of 2027 will be designed and built, less powerful engines, less aerodynamics…?
I don’t know if this magnificent ‘paddock’ has, as happens in the sophisticated F-1, engineers sufficiently prepared, ready, clever, intelligent to find the nooks and crannies, the limit, to the new regulations, something that the Europeans usually do better than the others. Japanese. The reduction in aerodynamics doesn’t seem bad to me, but they will find some trick, you’ll see, so that the motorcycles don’t leave the ground.
I know you don’t like motorcycles reaching 360 kilometers per hour.
It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I think it is totally unnecessary for motorcycles to reach that speed. Look, in Jerez, from the moment the traffic light went out until the first corner, the motorcycles were at 286 km/h. Has no sense. They are races, yes, it is called ‘racing’, okay, but I think that the spectacularity, the show, the overtaking will be just as attractive at 303 km/h. than at 350 km/h. It is not necessary to drive at 350 km/h. when the risk, at that speed, is very high. If you reduce the top speed somewhat, the spectacle does not decrease at all, zero and you reduce the danger.
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2024-05-09 22:30:22
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