Jorge Prado showed more of his real form at RedBud and looked back to his best in the first half of moto one, putting down the fastest lap of the race and getting a nine second lead until back-markers and an on fire Hunter Lawrence meant Prado couldn’t hang on for the win but still took second in the moto for second overall and his best result since the opener in Pala.
“It was a so-so start of the season, the first few races. I had a little bit up and down so we used the off-weekend to work a little bit on the bike as well, just a quick test to make sure we can improve and and get it more to the feeling I’m searching for. (We) made some steps today as well and I think it showed, I also felt more comfortable and that’s why I could push also a little bit more, so I’m pretty satisfied with my riding today, and with the effort from the team. We are making steps and if we keep going this direction I think we can make still some good moves so pretty happy with the race.
“Today was a good sign of the direction we need to work on and like I said it’s nice to be riding up front again, leading some laps and fighting for podium spots, so it was solid. We got those starts again, it was something that was much needed for me to get some confidence to run up front, and it looks like we dialed the bike a little bit better for starts as well.”
On the back-markers and Hunter passing him late for the moto win, Jorge said: “I think everything happened already like two/three laps before Hunter actually passed me. We started getting a ton of lappers and I started losing my rhythm, it was crazy, some of them just staying in the line and it was so hard for me to get around them. I was losing two to three seconds a lap just because I couldn’t get around some of the guys in some places. I didn’t even see the blue flag so it was so obvious they don’t know that we are coming. I lost some momentum there with Hunter coming strong and he passed me and I didn’t have anything for him, I would have attacked if I had something but he was riding very well and that’s it. I mean it was pretty hot today and I’m not really used to riding in this condition.”
“Back in MXGP we sometimes only had 20 guys on the gate, so then you barely lap people and I was still struggling! So imagine here when we have full gates! But this is part of the of the race right? I guess I will get better the more I lap so maybe try to build a bigger gap in the beginning!”
On the heat and humidity Jorge said: “ I feel like in California it’s never very hot. It’s also like a dry heat versus when we are riding now I’ve been three weeks now in Florida so I’m adapting to the heat and every week I feel better and better but it’s just so humid and this is more like Florida. It’s just humid when you’re riding and you just feel you’re sweating, it’s crazy. I just see sweat just coming down my eyes so it’s different in Europe – we don’t have these kind of races so it takes a little bit for the body to adapt I mean I think we all struggle when it gets hot“
Jorge also enjoyed leading laps and feeling more like himself at the front of the pack! “I told my dad when I came out for moto one, I said I feel like today I’m just getting back to myself. In that first moto I just felt like I had some spots on track where I was like okay this lap I’m feeling like myself, and then maybe the next next lap I feel bad, but then I can re-group in different places and feel more like myself. So we did some changes and it helped and I feel like in the second moto the whole time I was feeling more and more normal, so I was very happy with my riding. I was relaxed and it’s nice to get these laps leading the pack because the more I lead the more comfortable I get and the easier it is for me to ride that pace so, yeah, I’m very happy with my riding today.”
