You made your debut in the World Cup in 1993, how did you get on a motorcycle for the first time? I really liked running: cycling, running… I liked all the sports, I also did soccer. But when I ride in, in Mecatecno when I was still a child, and I used to go around the town, it is like nothing else in the world.
Is it for you? It is when you love something. I loved you passionately. Then a Vespino from my father, then a motocross one. I liked it a lot, I started doing some races and I entered the developer.
Your regular family was around, no, no; My grandfather had a motorcycle but he rode around and my father had a dirt bike and he rode it but that’s it. On the day I was born, my father fell off his motorcycle, broke his leg and took him to another hospital. So did my mother to see him, who was in the hospital for 10 or 12 days. It wasn’t the best omen, or I don’t know if it was predestined, but my mother didn’t like it very much (laughs).
You have spent more than 20 years at the World Cup, how do you manage? Life, like everything else, is a process. It is not the same when you begin, as when you receive; when you are in a yoke, or when things are wrong with you. You go through many situations, but in the end it was my training and my school. Competition, and especially motorcycling, gives you the most intense experiences. Learn very quickly, experiments come and go suddenly. That makes you learn and go further, both in sports and personally.
How does it last so long?
The secret is that you have a philosophy, a way to take it. If you think it’s just to win, that’s a good phrase, but at the end of the day, a personal game is even better. It has a constant discretion and you need to improve every year. I was learning and accepting things from each season until last year.
I wasn’t all about winning … I won the races ahead, the Spanish championship, in the Superbike … Yes, the goal is to win, but not only in performance, but also on a personal level and experience. You must fill yourself with it, because otherwise you will eventually lose yourself.
The key is knowing how to make pairs. Know that you lead and be tempted: either you succeed, or there is no place for you. This makes you very active and vigilant. I liked the feeling of vertigo at some point. But the pressure is fine if you know how to bear it and not let it overwhelm you.
Have you brought many friends? I was very lucky because I have friends all over the world: in the United States, in Japan, in Australia, all over Europe, and many in Italy, through my manager and through the teams. It is a second family. I have very good reasons.
When you retired last year it was to help Ducati develop the bike and provide a continuous world championship. Then there are other skills and tires that allow you to get into the kitchen and learn a lot. I still like getting on the motorcycle and hitting the gas. I am still restless and I like to enjoy small things, as now I come here -in reference to Calatayud-.
How does the Wicked Angel “trick” you into coming? We met in Andorra, cycling there and established a good relationship. She is also an athlete, patient and very dedicated. He has values and a very strong personality and we get along in many ways. He is a very affable man. One day he told me that he was going to do this race (Far West Race), he showed me a few pictures, he told me what it was like and I was very surprised along the way, the landscape… I wanted it. I came and knew that I would come with him, with Losada, with my girl and my brother too, but in the end he could not.
