Cycle News

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 16 APRIL 21, 2020 P47 I really like going to Australia. I actually have a lot of family from Australia. My dad is half Australian so every time we go there I catch up with my cous- ins. It's always a nice time to go there, and Phillip Island is such a cool place. The track is insane. There's nothing like going into turn one when it's windy and rain- ing and you're dropping it on your knee. Now that we've got no racing, what are you doing? How are you managing to stay sane? It's been tough, for sure. I've been playing a lot of video games. I'm thinking about buying one of those steering wheel stim- ulator things. Trying to keep the mind sharp. You're allowed here in L.A. to do a ride or a run or a bicycle ride, so I've been able to do that at least. That's nice to just get out in the fresh air. I have this private gym, the W, they just let me go down there, and it's just me in there. Other than that, the hardest part is the fridge, man. You got to stay away from the fridge. When I got back, I think I put on six pounds or something. You just start eating because there's nothing else to do. You were on that KTM last year. Everyone struggled on that bike last year, from the factory guys down to the cus- tom team guys. Yeah. I don't want to talk about last year. It was a difficult deal for everyone, for anybody who was on the KTM. It was not easy, for sure. I think everybody who rode one struggled, is one way to put it. I hated it. In your eyes, what was the issue with the chassis? Was it not steering, chattering? You just said it. That's it. The problem. I'm a rider that relies on a lot of feel on the front, so I didn't have any at all. I just couldn't figure out how to get the thing to go into the corner. That to me was the main problem. Moto2 is so competitive. Who, for you, are the real danger men within that class? Or is it that they're all danger men? Oh, man. They're pretty much all danger men, I think. You couldn't really pick. I guess there's riders like Luca Marini, Enea Bastianini, the guys who were running up front in Qatar, for sure, I think will be there the whole year. Baldassarri is always quite strong. I think if he can con- tinue on his pace throughout the whole year. Last year he started really strong but then dropped off quite a lot. I think Augusto Fernandez will figure it out, too. I think he'll be someone who will be there. I think maybe getting used to the new team has been the struggle for him, but I feel he'll be there. Like you said, it's just such a competitive class and there's so many riders that could be there. I think it's one of the mental things you have to deal with. It's almost like when you race this class you can't really think about anybody else. You're almost racing against yourself in a way because there's so many riders. Has there been any thoughts or conversations revolving around getting into MotoGP? It's the goal. I've always want- ed to be there ever since I was a kid. I want to be in MotoGP. I think once the right opportunity comes, we'll be able to take it. As far as this year, obviously, I've thought about it but I want to do really well in Moto2 before I go. I really want to prove it to myself. I've done this class for a long time, so I want to win races here. I think that would be nice before I went to MotoGP. CN "YOU GOT TO STAY AWAY FROM THE FRIDGE. WHEN I GOT BACK, I THINK I PUT ON SIX POUNDS OR SOMETHING. YOU JUST START EATING BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO DO."

• Cover