Interview with Tito Rabat and Yonny Hernández at Madrid-Xanadú

Thanks to Aegis Inmo, on the 18th, the PlusMoto team was able to interview the Moto2 World Championship riders, Tito Rabat and Yonny Hernández. The riders were very cooperative and showed their great quality as people.

Both answered all the questions without any hesitation and with great naturalness. And it is that both Yonny and Tito are two very natural guys.

All the attendees were able to enjoy them, take photos, receive signed posters, and even take part in a raffle for tickets to Motorland, thanks to Aegis.

Interview with Tito:

Q: At the start of the season, what goals did you and your team set for yourselves?

A: This is my first year in Moto2. Last year I finished very happy in the 125cc class, but after seeing during the previous year what the “category was like, I thought I wouldn’t even be able to score points”. Even so, the goal has always been points.

Q: So after seeing how the first races have gone, would you change that goal?

A: Honestly, ambition always pushes you to want a little more each time. I’ve seen that scoring points is something I can do, since I’ve scored in every race except Le Mans, where I crashed in practice and, although I was able to race, I didn’t feel physically well. Then at Montmeló I had what for me was my best race: I finished seventh, 12 seconds behind the winner, and in Moto2 that’s nothing. Later at Silverstone I finished sixth in a very, very difficult race, with many crashes, all of them behind my position except Pasini’s, and I was riding among the top seven the whole time. Now we will try to fight for the top five positions, but above all we want to learn about the bike, how it behaves at the different circuits, and keep growing this season.

Q: How are you doing with the injury you suffered at Le Mans?

A: Honestly, well. I’m already very recovered. (Tito showed us his hand covered in scars, a sign of how toughened he is from so many battles on the track).

Q: How do you analyze the category?

A: For me, Moto2 is a category that is very well put together. We all use the same suspension, the chassis are more or less similar, we all have the same engine, the weight is practically identical, and in the end the one who wins is the one who gives it the most gas. The only drawback is that the power is a bit limited at times, and the one who wins is the one who manages it best and finds the best setup during the weekend.

Q: For us fans, it’s sometimes a bit complicated to understand the differences offered by the chassis. Could you clarify this a little?

A: FTR is good for taller riders, while they say Suter and Moriwaki are for smaller riders. But the thing is they have all won, they are all always at the front, so in the end the rider is what matters.

Q: It’s clear that Moto2 is very tight race after race.

A: Yes, for example, personally, at Montmeló on Saturday morning I was classified 28th, 1.2 seconds behind the leader, and I stress the 28th, “that has never been seen in history”. In this category the points are extremely expensive; these are the most contested races. You can’t even blink, it’s a psychological war.

Q: Since the races are so close, it’s so important to make lap after lap perfect. Do you think that thanks to Moto2 the future of MotoGP will be more competitive?

A: You never know, both categories are very different. The truth is that in Moto2 you always have to be very focused. It’s different from the 250cc, where the bike gave you the space to pass; here you are the one who decides where to take it. If a good rider concentrates and pushes, he passes you, and conversely, if you lose concentration, four riders pass you at once.

Q: You like Assen a lot. Do you see the race as favorable?

A: Honestly, yes. Assen and Phillip Island are my favorite circuits, and I hope everything goes well there.

Q: Speaking a bit about MotoGP, Toni Elias is having a hard time.

A: What I can tell you is that Toni is not a rider who belongs there. He’s a very good rider, he showed it last year, and that is not his position by a long way.

Interview with Yonny:

Q: This is your second year on the team. How have you experienced Tito’s arrival?

A: Honestly, very well. I’m very happy with my teammate, we get along well, and although he has his mechanics and engineers and we each work on our own things, when we need something, sharing telemetry and such, there’s a really good atmosphere.

Q: At Recas you have trained with many World Championship riders.

A: Yes, I’ve trained with riders like Bautista, but above all with Simón. I want to “take the opportunity to send him a greeting and tell him to come back to the track quickly, because we need him now!”.

Q: What do you think of the Simoncelli–Pedrosa “maneuver”?

A: From my point of view, I didn’t see it as harsh as people have made it out to be. Simoncelli already had his line, and it’s very hard to correct at those speeds, but it’s a shame because Dani got hurt.

Q: How are the World Championship bikes experienced in your country? Are you very well known there?

A: Both my brother and I are very well known there. We are practically the only ones from Colombia who are racing at world level. In Colombia, although it’s not like here in Spain, there is great enthusiasm for motorcycles.

Q: Is it difficult to pursue this professionally in Colombia?

A: It’s true that there aren’t the same resources as here, but with hard work you can get anywhere.

Q: You have stood out in supermotard in Colombia and here too. Which do you like more, supermotard or road racing?

A: I like supermotard a lot and I was very good at it in the past, but road racing is what I enjoy more.

Q: As we asked your teammate, how do you see Assen?

A: It’s a very difficult circuit. You have to be very focused, you have to be taking a very fast line through the corner, and you have to be very brave.

Joint interview:

Q: Right now there is a lot of talk about removing traction control, using carbon brakes, and making the tires worse as solutions to make MotoGP a more competitive championship.

TITO AND YONNY: It would certainly be more competitive if they changed all those things. We can’t talk about traction control because we haven’t tried it; maybe if we got on a MotoGP bike we wouldn’t be able to control it.

Q: This week’s big news is that Elena Rosell will replace Julián Simón at the Assen race. Do you find the arrival of women in the World Championship interesting?

TITO: It would be great if women came in. It has never been achieved before and it would be perfect.

YONNY: I hadn’t heard the news, but it seems to me “f*** mother, I’ve ridden with her in the CEV, and she really goes very fast”.

On behalf of the PlusMoto team, we wish both riders a good race at Assen. We will be paying close attention to their work.

And to all PlusMoto followers, stay tuned, because surprises are coming soon.