VOL. 51 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 16, 2014 P189
champion – because the gap at the end was
six and you got seven and nine points in those
races. Were you aware of that?
In Portimao it was the only race where I over-
took Tom twice. He started better than me, then I
overtook him, then I crashed, then I overtook him
again. Those kind of rides, not giving up and going
back out with a bike that is busted… I remember
in Portimao it was a nightmare because I had no
footpeg and I had to hold my leg in place on the
straight. I had massive cramps.
Those things make a difference. A champion-
ship is not for the guy who wins races and then
in the next one he is not scoring. A championship
is about being consistent and dominant when you
need to be. I know this sounds a bit boring, but it
is a bit about risk management – you have to do it
when you need to.
I know there were a lot of people doubting it. I
think after Magny Cours a lot of people, even my
mates, they were thinking' 'Yeah, I would like him
to win,' but I think nobody thought I had it in me to
go and do that. That makes it even more satisfying
because I proved everybody wrong. But first I had
to prove it to myself.
Did you not realize you had it in you until
those two races at Magny Cours? Your drive
and positivity were obviously there, but you
did not know you could do it until you did it.
Did you surprise yourself to, not just win at Lo-
sail, but be so far head in each race to win the
title?
I think I had convinced myself before that I was
going to win. I convinced myself that the track was
good for me, good for Aprilia. It was good for me
as a rider because I do know it well, and the night
race was an advantage because I had raced already
there like that, and I'd done endurance races.
But really this was bullshit.
I had no real advantage because Tom knew the
track, Kawasaki had been there before so had
data, so we had no advantage basically. Even the
In his two-year
stint at Aprilia
Guintoli took
home six wins for
the Italian team.
