The day after tomorrow, Stefan Bradl will test the new Honda RC213V at the Sepang circuit.
In the columns of speedweek, a site particularly close to the German pilot, he obviously expresses his support for his compatriot Jonas Folger and takes stock of his own state of health after his right wrist injury which occurred in September in Portimao.
Stefan bradl : “I feel sorry for Jonas because he rode well in 2017, he was competitive, especially in the first half of the season. But I can't say much about his situation. I don't know what the reason for this withdrawal is, I lack information, I don't know enough. I can only guess. Maybe the pressure was too high. We can perhaps also say that the physical conditions due to his health problems were a major handicap. I am very bitter and very sad.
I noticed that the physical demands of the MotoGP category are much higher than those of the Moto2 category. I also had to fight for my first season in MotoGP.
From the perspective of fitness, pressure, public relations work increases several times. GP weekends in the premier category are really completely planned from Thursday morning to Sunday evening. You can barely breathe for 30 minutes. The pressure from outside is extreme. If you're a lonely fighter from a country like Germany, it's always very difficult in that regard, because everyone looks at you, you're the figurehead. I've been there before. Jonas knows it now, I think. He did an extraordinarily good job at the Sachsenring, for example. And there, the pressure was probably the greatest, and he resisted. It was not easy.
When we look at the mental side, Jonas immediately had a strong teammate at Tech3-Yamaha, and he was immediately compared. Of course, Johann Zarco is tough and a damn good driver. Of course, you can try to hide it from yourself. You can try looking only at yourself. But somewhere, when you want to be the best on the team, and you really try. Jonas did well. I'm afraid it was damaging. I hope he gets the illness under control and is healthy. It is very difficult to predict what will happen to him in the future. But I wish him to rediscover the joy of living and to be happy.”
As for the three days ahead in Malaysia, the Honda driver feels a mixture of impatience and caution...
“I feel better, I have made good progress. Something happened in the last 14 days. Of course, the progress will be smaller but it should still improve. But how I will feel on a MotoGP, I will only see on Wednesday. Although I can do push-ups, it's still quite painful. Still, it should be fine when I ride the bike. HRC officials know that I will not be 100% yet. But it's high time I got back to flying. I will definitely have fun with the bike again. I can't wait to be there now. Basically not much has changed on this bike compared to when I was at LCR in 2014. I've always had fun with this bike.
Maybe I will only be able to ride the first and second day or, for example, the first and third day, depending on the intensity of the pain. We’ll have to see if I do 30 laps a day, or 50.”
Private tests require, Stefan Bradl warns that no declaration will be made at the end of this test.
