Factory Kawasaki test rider, Broc Tickle, has given his thoughts on Jorge Prado’s interview with Steve Matthes where he said he didn’t have the tools to ride to his full potential.
Prado said: “We are far off. I mean, I’m a sand rider and I finished P5 today. It’s a track where I should be winning, and I know I would win with different stuff. So yeah, we just need to keep working. Yeah, they we did some testing the first week after High Point. I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. Hopefully we improve somehow. I think they are trying their best. And I’m just waiting.
“I’m a four-time World Champion. Last year, I won 11 out of 18 or something. Are you really telling me I’m not fast enough to win today here? I mean, if you guys really knew [what was going on], you would be impressed. So we just need to keep working. And for me, it’s a pity because I think that I could be winning, but right now I don’t have the tools to do it.“
Speaking on the Pulp MX show, in response to the quotes, Tickle said: “I will tell you one thing. The team has been working their balls off to do whatever they can. And they were there for, I don’t know, five days before High Point or after High Point. I think they put eight hours on the bike in the week, which is a lot, maybe nine. And today, for instance, I tested this morning and the engine’s getting overnighted tomorrow so he can ride it. So, you know, we’re doing, as a team, everything, I give the guys credit on the team. I mean, they’re… It’s not easy. You know, they are working hard and then, you know, interviews like that….it is hard to hear that. It is. I’ll be honest.“
On Prado’s lap that saw him go quickest n qualifying in Q2 by a distance, Tickle said he was “blown away:” “I watched that lap in practice, and I was blown away. I was like, whoa, there it is. Like I was actually shocked when I saw that lap come together.“
And just maybe that is part of the problem, anyone who has watched Jorge in MXGP, isn’t shocked at that lap, that is his level, he is one of the best of the best. Maybe that is why Jorge is so frustrated, he knows where he should be and the team don’t realise how good he could be when he is fully comfortable. They have to give him everything he is asking for on the bike, the talent is there to deliver when he is comfortable.
Watch the full segment below:
