By Ana Puerto / Motosan
Anyone involved in the world of motorcycling knows Izaskun Ruiz. A journalist not at all oriented towards sport in the beginning, she discovered a passion for this field over time. After many years in this environment, she has covered a large number of world events: the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the athletics and swimming world championships, in addition to the MotoGP and the Dakar.
Izaskun Ruiz is currently editorial director at DAZN, a platform broadcasting different sports in Europe and which arrived in Spain to cover MotoGP at the beginning of 2019. On the circuits, she moves into the pitlane to interview riders or team members , in addition to collecting declarations after qualifying and races. She is also in charge of coordinating MotoGP content published on the platform, work which she carries out at the DAZN offices in Barcelona.
What was your best professional experience in the paddock? And the worst?
Without a doubt, the worst times were when a pilot died. Personally, the first death I had to deal with was that of Shoya Tomizawa in Misano and it was horrible. And it's something you can't get used to, it's impossible. Then there were the deaths of Simoncelli and Luis Salom. Yes, without a doubt, the worst moments are linked to the deaths of the pilots. It's very difficult to continue to do your job and have to report on something so dramatic.
As for good times, I was lucky to have a lot of them. I would say that every interview I do live is one, especially the ones I do right after the podium or qualifying. These are moments that I continue to take full advantage of. In 2010, my first year in the World Championship, there were three Spanish champions, and especially in Malaysia where Lorenzo was titled on the same day as Elías, it was spectacular. I then benefited a lot from each title of the Spanish drivers.
Izaskun Ruiz in the center, between Álex Crivillé and Marc Márquez.
One of the most emotional moments was Albert Arenas' victory at the Thai Grand Prix in 2019, when he started crying.
This moment was beautiful, intense. These are the kinds of moments that my job gives me and that I enjoy the most. Live, trackside interviews are the ones that we can get the most out of, but they can also backfire. You must therefore also learn to manage the situation very well and above all to decipher the person you are facing, because you cannot interview and ask questions of everyone in the same way. It therefore takes a little knowledge to know how to get or at least try to get the best out of each person interviewed. When you get there, it's unbeatable because that's where the emotion of the moment is, they've just gotten off the bike, the adrenaline is still there and there aren't as many filters as 'elsewhere.
With the job you do, there must be circuits that you enjoy working on. Which calendar appointment is the most pleasant for your job? Whether it’s for infrastructure, the climate…
There are several but in my case, given my job, the best circuits are those where everything is more or less close, because I go up and down the paddock and that makes things easier. I really like Mugello, Phillip Island, Jerez. Austria and Aragón are also very good and very practical circuits for working. In terms of infrastructure, the majority of circuits are now very practical for working with the press. Germany is the least “nice” from a logistical point of view because as there are several paddocks it complicates everyone's work a little. But apart from Germany, the others are rather practical.
Finally, what advice would you give to a girl who wants to work in this industry, whether as a pilot, journalist, mechanic, etc.? ?
My advice is that she does it and that she does not doubt, that she never puts obstacles in her way because there are only those that we put in place for ourselves. If she wants to do it, she does it and she devotes herself fully to it. You have to prepare yourself to be as professional as possible. But she should never doubt that she can work in this environment. If that's what she likes, go for it. What must not happen is to put obstacles in the way yourself, this is not allowed.
Read the original article on Motosan.es
© Photos by Izaskun Ruiz.
