By Raquel Jiménez Rodriguez / Motosan.es
Carlos Checa, former MotoGP rider and current Dazn commentator, spoke at Motosan where he spoke at length about the championship.
Carlos Checa (San Fructuoso Bages, 1972) is a former MotoGP rider and the idol of a great generation of two-wheel fans. A life linked to what was his dream, which gave him great moments like the title he won during his years in the profession but which also almost cost him his life. Today, with his bag full of experience, he analyzes the new generations from the Dazn commentary booth and takes stock with Motosan of a World Championship that is changing eras.
In a year as complicated as this one, where Covid-19 played a big role, how did you experience this whole situation?
" At At the beginning, for me, it was a bit like a film, because it was really something new that no one imagined. At first, we saw it as a film that takes place in other countries, but when it happened here, we started to realize the reality a little. As for the race, I think Dorna did a huge job to get the championship to where it could be taken, the way it was done, but the truth is that it's really a success. There were times when it seemed like it wouldn't even happen. »
In your opinion, how did all this translate into sport?
" I I think this is what has affected this season the most on a sporting level. On a personal level, I think we had to adapt like everyone else, be very careful and attentive and stay a little in this security. So I think in the championship that was the most impactful thing, the second thing was Márquez's injury. It was a fantastic year in terms of results, unexpected because the favorites were no longer there, and the pleasant surprise was that Mir and Suzuki got this title. »
What do you think were the big expectations for a year like this?
" For For me, the predictions at the beginning of the year were Viñales/Quartararo or Quartararo/Viñales as favorites, all this still speaking with the absence of Márquez. For me, Márquez was undoubtedly the favorite. But then Jerez arrived, Márquez got injured and from there, on a sporting level, other protagonists appeared. At that time, for me, Viñales and Quartararo were the favorites, and obviously Dovizioso was too because of past results and because he is a late season driver. I also saw the Suzukis of Rins and Mir as bikes that could win races. I wouldn't have bet on the championship, let alone on Mir, but I could have bet on Rins. And then Morbidelli was also in the background, but maybe a little better than Mir. The KTMs were unknowns, but for me, they were winners even if I would not have put them as candidates (for the title) and, in the end, they were not. »
Yamaha started the season dominating very strongly, but then they lost the way. What do you think this is due to?
" It is very strange for Yamaha, because both for Viñales and for Quartararo, they are two riders and a brand with enormous potential but they have really not been up to the mark during the season. For Yamaha, it has not been a great season because of technical problems with the engines which in my opinion were poorly managed. »
"But on the other hand you see Morbidelli who was able to fight for the championship with a very similar bike, and it is the small details that make the difference. It was the regularity that they lacked a lot, the most extreme case being that of Quartararo who began not only to win but also to dominate with great ease, and who ended by disappearing. This is what they need to improve on next year. »
At the other end, KTM and the Austrians were one of the big surprises of the season. Many give much of the credit to Dani Pedrosa: what do you think?
" I think the bike is different. I think KTM has incorporated a few engineers from Ducati, and they are somewhat shadowy members: they probably have 30, 40 or 50 engineers, each with a task and a mission for a job that is a multi-year project. »
" A motorcycle is not built overnight, it is an evolution. I think that in this return, when Dani Pedrosa arrives, it is an important integration, a driver with great experience, with a lot of security, and I think that is a fact that accelerates this process, as well as the riders that KTM has had, like Pol spread »
" It It's true that when you have a driver with Dani's experience, what Dani can say has more weight than what young drivers without much experience can say. KTM taught other teams a lesson because I think it is very important for teams to have experienced test riders. »
They tried something similar at Yamaha with Jorge Lorenzo, but the Mallorcan ultimately did not fit into the Japanese's plans. What do you think is due to this?
" It Just look at Lorenzo's Instagram to see it. Jorge Lorenzo is a champion, he is a driver for whom everyone has worked, he wants to win, he has great ambition and he is a driver like there are only a few. »
" But, for me, Jorge Lorenzo finished the season tired. I think he wanted to continue running, but to really get to work for others, in the shadows and with all the risks that entails, I don't think he had the motivation to be able to do this work . And in the end, the lifestyle has to be the same as when you are a rider, if you want to get on the bike and go to the limit to collect some information. »
Next year, the MotoGP starting grid will see many changes, including the move of Valentino Rossi to Petronas. How do you think this change will affect him?
" I thinks the change at Petronas may favor Valentino because he will have a little less pressure. This year he made several mistakes and I think he will try to correct them. »
" Desire winning or doing well is, I think, what made him make some mistakes. And then the bad luck of Covid which kept him away from several races and marked Valentino's season. Thinking about it coldly, it was his season, because he always had regularity and consistency of results, but not this year, when it was the year to be able to fight for the championship. I think it hurts him a lot because he knows it was a great opportunity. »
“Valentino is very aware that it is going to be very difficult to win again. Next year, he will be in a more family-oriented team. On a technical level he will have what he wants and more, and in addition he will be next to Morbidelli who is a close friend. Ramon Forcada, who for me is a great technician thanks to his role in the victories and championships obtained with Jorge Lorenzo, is also in the structure. In this sense, I think Valentino can have a better team. »
And in the case of Fabio Quartararo?
" In In the case of Quartararo there will be more pressure and a direct rival who is Viñales. He will not be a teammate but will be a direct rival. The relationship with your teammate is never perfectly good, but there are times when things don't work out, and that's when there can be more familiarity and complicity. »
" Currently, Both Quartararo and Viñales are drivers of the future and it is possible that in the future only one or both of them will stay. That's where there can be a bit more friction and, at a team level, it's extra pressure. If he can handle that, he'll be here next year. I think this is the step that Quartararo must take. »
For the moment the grid does not include Andrea Dovizioso. Did this decision surprise you?
" The farewell by Dovizioso surprised me and he still surprises me. I don't really know if he's going to come back or if he's already made a deal with a team. But otherwise, I'm surprised. I have a great relationship with Andrea and I think he is one of the drivers who knows how to weigh his mistakes against those of his environment. »
" SO, both the decision he made and the timing of it in the season surprised me a lot. I can honestly understand it, he made an offer with the conditions he expected to continue the race. Dovizioso has been one of the best drivers in recent years, after Márquez, and I think he needs to be considered and valued in another way. »
If Marc Márquez doesn't arrive at the start of the season, what would you think of Andrea Dovizioso as reserve driver?
" I I think Bradl is a good test driver who has done a very good job, and he will have other opportunities, but really right now if I was the team principal, if I couldn't have Márquez because things get complicated, the best option would be Dovizioso. Not only because of his speed, but also because he can bring a lot of information to Honda. Furthermore, as a test pilot he has a perfect profile. »
On the other side of the box there will be a Pol Espargaró who will leave KTM in his best light. He is said to have a very similar driving style to Márquez: do you think this change will benefit him?
" We talks a lot, but until he gets on the Honda... From my experience with Michelins, the way Pol rides is not a similar style to Marc. In my opinion, it will cost him a little. It is clear that he is a great rider, what he has done on KTM is huge, but I hope and wish that he does his best and surprises me. But if I have to be honest, I think he is going to have a very difficult time and it will be difficult to beat what he did with KTM this year. »
" It is true that Pol has a very good quality, which is to brake putting a lot of pressure on the front, but on the other hand, he has a passage in the corners where he throws the bike a lot and that seems impossible for the Honda . All pilots say this point is the most critical. I think if he is able to improve in that area he can be competitive, but few drivers, I would only say Marc, have been able to do that consistently. »
You have experienced very complicated situations with falls like the one you suffered in 1998 at Donington Park. Marc Márquez is currently at a critical point in his career: how do you think this will affect him? Do you think it will be the same?
“The fall at Donington Park changed me a lot, I experienced a very critical moment when it seemed to me that I was even losing my life because I was unable to breathe. Later, I lost my vision and mobility and it affected me a lot mentally. Marquez's problem is a bone, and obviously I don't know how this whole long process that is going on will affect him, but now the most important thing is that he can heal his the.
»
" It It's clear that there are injuries that leave a mark and others that don't, and the accident I suffered in England had a big impact on me. In the end, it probably helped me be a better person, but as a driver I lost out a little. In Marc's case, this was a complicated issue due to the rush to return as soon as possible and this has already generated an odyssey. I hope he can come back as soon as possible and leave this in the past. »
Read the original article on Motosan.es
Raquel Jiménez Rodriguez
Photo credit: MotoGP.com and social networks
