Santi Hernández is the man in the shadows of the Repsol Honda box that Marc Márquez highlighted. Always at his side when he gets off his machine, he is also the one who looks nervously at the small screen at the end of the race, accompanying his driver with his fiery eyes in the middle of a battle all the way to the checkered flag. He is the chief mechanic of the current MotoGP phenomenon and he served the previous one for a time: Valentino Rossi. He talks about both to signal that they are not that different…
Santi Hernández has come a long way in the Grand Prix paddock. Aged 42, he introduces himself as follows: “ I started as a suspension technician. In 1999 I won a title with Criville, another in 2003 with Valentino Rossi. Then there were the following with Marc since 2013 in Moto2 and everything he accomplished in MotoGP. We're talking about seven championships that I won with Marc and a total of nine titles. If someone had told me as a child that I would be here at 42, I would never have believed it. »
Living an experience with the two best drivers in the history of Grands Prix is not given to everyone. What can he tell us about it? “ Valentino and Marc are identical in some ways. I could say that Marc is like Valentino. The latter gives the impression that he is never in the box, that he doesn't worry about much and that he is always laughing. But the truth is that he studies everything, he knows exactly the rhythm of his opponents. He comes into the box and sits with his technicians trying to get everything under control. In this regard, Marc does the same thing. »
But being a champion also means mobilizing your troops through your charisma. And there too, the two men have this thing in common: “ the best thing that can happen is to work with someone who is demanding of you. Our job demands a lot. When we see the driver giving his all on the track, it reflects on the team which is thus mobilized. Marc doesn't come into the booth to tell us you need to do more of this or that. When you see what he does on the track, how he rasps his leather in the corners, when the bike is not at 100%, you know you have to work harder to get up to his level. The hardest part is when you are with a driver with whom there is no such osmosis. »
A great emulation between driver and team which is the engine not only of great results but also of longevity in a career where pleasure has a dominant place...
