Dani Pedrosa explains Spanish success

Jorge Lorenzo, Toni Elias and Marc Marquez’s historic achievement in winning all three Grand Prix classes in 2010 was proof that best road racers in the world are Spanish.

Never before in the history of MotoGP have all three classes been won by riders of the same nationality.

And in 2011, the large contingent of Spaniard’s in the world championship paddock continue to reign supreme.

Two out of three MotoGP races have been won by Spaniard’s, with Lorenzo taking victory on home soil in Jerez. And Repsol Honda star Dani Pedrosa won his first race of the season in Estoril last weekend.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Terol has dominated the 125GP series and is currently undefeated heading to the fourth round of the series in Le Mans, France.

It is undeniable that no country supports motorcycle racing more than Spain and no rider represents what investment in young talent can do more than triple world champion Pedrosa.

Even the Spanish government plays a fundamental role by financing circuit development and Spain boasts more world class race tracks than any other country.
Such high standard facilities allow riders to learn their craft on safe tracks so they can concentrate 100 per cent on racing, which prepares them for the world stage. Five of the seven races in the CEV Buckler Spanish national championship are held on Grand Prix tracks.

And Pedrosa said: “What makes a rider good or not I think it’s three things. First one, I would say is talent, determination second, and then work. Some are more talented than others and they push more from the work side.”

“The other ones push more from determination. It’s a sport that by years doing it the same way, sometimes you can reach the top level, because some years you have a lot of level in the class, some years there is no level. And suddenly one day, one guy shows up in the first position, second-first, second-first.”

“So basically I would say we have a very good structure in Spain with the tracks, with the Spanish championship, they take a lot of care to bring riders. Also many foreigners go to race there. But the Spanish Federation, the Catalan Federation, they take a lot of care of these young kids which maybe now they are eight, nine, ten-years-old and maybe in ten years we see them racing here.”

“I think this is the key. Spain believes in motorcycling. Not every rider has the same situation, but in my case I was all set to just focus on racing and improve my riding and achieving my goals. Some others, they have a little more trouble because they need more sponsors or something. But maybe other countries believe that their kids are more for another sport, like football or swimming or whatever. But in Spain or Catalunya they follow a lot the motorcycle culture.”

“It’s kind of strange, because also if you check the (Valentino) Rossi area where he’s around, many riders are from that area. In Barcelona, when you go in the taxi and you stop at the light and you see in the front all bikes, it’s like a race. Many, many scooters and bikes. I don’t know, Catalunya is a country strong not only in road, but also trial and enduro. Motocross not so strong, but enduro also. In Catalunya there is a lot of philosophy for motorcycles.”