INTERVIEW I KEVIN SCHWANTZ
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seems to love what he's doing. I
think he's got a brilliant future in
the sport for sure, and probably a
Moto3 championship under his belt
this year."
Moving to the end of our conver-
sation, talk turns to where MotoGP
is at. Come the end of Novem-
ber, the paddock will find itself in
a position unique to the last 22
years: Valentino Rossi will not be
among the names on track when
preseason officially commences.
There was a time when this would
have spelled disaster for the sport.
But Schwantz, one of Rossi's child-
hood heroes, believes that MotoGP
(Above) Rossi and
Schwantz on the
Austin podium in
2019. The Texan
knows Rossi's
impact on the sport
will last for many
years to come. (Left)
Schwantz's final
500cc race win at
Donington Park in
1994 came after
another monumental
highside in practice.
is well now equipped to deal with
his absence.
"I've said this several times now:
the impact he's had on the sport,
we're still going to feel through
the teams and the riders he runs
through the Academy," Schwantz
said. "He's not going to be out
there racing number 46 in yellow
on Sunday. But his guys are going
to be out there—Pecco [Bagnaia],
[Luca] Marini, all those guys will still
be in the championship and flying
the '46' colors. I can't imagine that
Valentino is not going to be there to
enjoy their spoils of victory."
CN
"It used to be you had to be top three every weekend.
But this sport has gotten so competitive that I think
if you can keep yourself within the top five, or
occasionally, top 10 every weekend, and avoid those
races where you DNF to a minimum, you'll be in
contention to win [the championship]."
