With a single Grand Prix victory (Valencia 2010 in Moto2), Karel Abraham is certainly not one of the best Top Gun, but the boy is likeable and, like all Grand Prix riders, nevertheless has serious handling skills.
Arriving in the World Cup in 2005, he climbed all the steps with his father's team, until landing in MotoGP in 2011. Seriously injured on several occasions, he left the premier category during 2015 after half a blank season to do a year 2016 in Superbike.
Back in MotoGP, but this time within the Aspar team, the Czech rider answered a few questions in a press release released by the Spanish team.
“I’m really excited to start this new challenge”
Karel Abraham is back in the MotoGP paddock after being away for a year. The Czech rider returns to the premier category full of determination and enthusiasm to ride his favorite bike, a Ducati, which, he hopes, will bring him pleasure on the track so that, according to him, the results will follow.
Now that the new year is underway and with an entire season ahead of us, what are you looking forward to in 2017?
“I hope to have a competitive bike that works. I'm really looking forward to the start of the new season. In the past, when I made my debut in MotoGP, six years ago now, it was on a Ducati. It was my favorite bike and coming back to a Ducati really excites me to start this new challenge. »
How was your return to the MotoGP paddock?
“It’s nice to be back. I could talk about it for hours, but when I left for World Superbikes, it was because I didn't have a good option to stay in MotoGP. But it didn't work out as we had hoped, and I eventually had to leave the team; I couldn't stay there. During last season we saw that there was an opportunity to return to MotoGP with Team Aspar and that's what I wanted. This is where I grew up, since I started in the World Championship at 15 years old. I prefer being in MotoGP, I think it's partly because I'm more used to it. »
How much has motorcycling changed since 2011 and 2012?
“It’s a different bike. Unfortunately, during these two seasons, the factory was busy making a complete change. During my first season, the engine was still part of the chassis (carrier engine). Then, the following year, we had normal aluminum frames. Being in the middle of such a big change during this time, the bike didn't work. This bike is very different, I feel good on it and I have more confidence because I know how it will respond. This was not the case before. »
What are the strong points of the Ducati?
“Ducati has always been a factory that produced powerful engines, and perhaps this is the strongest point of the bike. But it's not easy to compare it with the rest of the bikes because I only had four days of testing and one of those was on the GP14. Not all drivers were present at Jerez either. It's difficult to make comparisons right away. For me the bike is amazing but it's still too early to answer this question properly. »
What is your main goal for this season?
“That’s a difficult question to answer in January. To put it simply, I would like to have fun on the track. When a driver has fun, the results are usually not bad. But right now, it's difficult to say what a good result would be. First place is a good result, but under normal conditions we are still far from it. You might say that eleventh place is a good result... but tenth is always better. What if everyone really improves? So maybe fifteenth would be a good result. Right now I just want to be happy running, and if that happens the results will be good. »
Paddock-GP translation
