There were some interesting quotes from Jorge Prado on finding his way back to the front of the pack by the end of the outdoor season and the Spaniard is looking forward to SMX. It underlines just how important finding the right feeling on the bike is for the Spaniard, and how good he is when he finds the right feeling. He could certainly be a contender in SMX with his confidence in the bike and after winning Ironman!
Jorge said: “Everyone wants to win, but how much do you want it? When the wins don’t come, when the podiums are there, but they are not enough. That’s when champions are tested. Not when they are winning, but when they are fighting to get back on top. You keep showing up. You keep trying. You keep looking for that feeling, when everything just clicks. Because once you know what winning feels like, being close will never be enough. And after almost two years without a win, we finally found it.”
On the bike changes before Unadilla: “Motocross, it’s a hard sport. It’s super technical, and when you don’t feel 100% with your bike and with your body, it’s just hard to be fast, and then this is also limiting your confidence, and when you’re not confident about yourself and the whole thing, it’s just that you’re not bringing your 100% to the races, right?
“I was very excited for the last few races, especially after the break. We made a ton of improvements. We had some ideas. We tried some stuff, and it was definitely in a better direction, and that gave me that extra confidence to push myself a little bit more at the races and get a little bit more comfortable. But yeah, it was the first race this year I really felt like myself, fighting both motos for the win, and I’m getting both times fastest lap of the race, so it was already a step in the right direction right there.
“I would say the improvements were a little bit of everything. A combination of bikes set up and myself. In motorcycles you have the mechanical side. We’ve worked a lot on that too, and that was allowing me to improve my riding as well, so at the end it’s a combination of both that made me step it up, especially for those last three races.”
Looking ahead to SMX: “My confidence is pretty good going to SMX, ending the Supercross season good, and we actually improved the bike also on that, so I felt great with my Supercross bike, and then we end up the outdoor season with a win and feeling great on the bike as well. So SMX will be fun. I’ve never raced any SMX, so I’m really looking forward to see these kind of hybrid tracks, and we are racing with a Supercross bike, so I’m excited to see how everything feels, and we also have like a, it’s almost kind of like a two-day format where you have a little bit of practice the day before, and then you go racing on Saturdays, so I have a lot of chances for a good SMX.”
