Classic Racer

Dani Pedrosa talks about the Goodwood Revival

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CR: Dani, did you enjoy your Goodwood Revival debut?

DP: Honestly, it’s way better than I ever thought it would be! I think it’s a great experience that anyone who loves motorcycle­s has to come and be part of, even as a spectator. I must say I’m totally surprised about how the event is actually organised. Every single tiny detail has been thought of, and it’s all so nicely presented – it’s very English! I don’t know how they manage to make everything look like back then, but it’s an unbelievab­le experience, I really like it. I also like wearing my 1960s outfit! When you talk to people, you realise everyone is enjoying themselves, everyone is relaxed, people are super happy, and the place is beautiful, especially with perfect weather. It’s complete escapism from everyday life, just for a weekend!

CR: How about the racing – is it what you were expecting? Was it enjoyable?

DP: It was, it honestly was.to start with, in the first race I was not so good, but then I managed to recover some places, and then after three or four laps I arrived to a certain point in the field, and I got in a group with Eugene Laverty with the green stripe on his helmet, and one other guy, and we more or less all had the same pace – plus all three of us were current riders, so then we knew, he’s coming on the left, he’s coming on the right, and every lap we were slipstream­ing each other and exchanging positions. Even the rider swap was super fun – I think we did it very well!

CR: Do you like it enough to want to come back again?

DP: For sure I want to come back, if they invite me! It’s a pity I came here alone this time without any of my friends, but next time I want to bring people with me, and maybe some other Spanish riders, too. Because you have to come here to feel the emotion of Goodwood, to live it, and to experience the whole weekend.you can’t get an idea of what it’s like to be at this Festival unless you come here, and I highly recommend it.

CR: How did this first visit come about? DP: Basically, I got a call from Joaquín Folch who told me that the Duke of Richmond who owns Goodwood wanted me to come and ride here at this Revival race. So Joaquín invited me to join his family’s team for it and race alongside his son, and I was very glad to accept.

CR: Were there any problems entailed in getting KTM or Red Bull’s approval to do this?

DP: I asked them for permission to do this race, but they already knew all about it, and were very happy to let me come!

CR: What’s it like riding a Manx Norton? DP: Well, it’s a whole new experience which I’ve enjoyed a lot – you have lots of low-end power and torque, so you can drive out of the corners quite easily, but not so much accelerati­on compared to a modern bike. I felt right away at home, because the steering isn’t very heavy, so the bike feels quite light to steer. Obviously, the angle you can take in turns on these tyres is something to be careful about, but I’d say the biggest difference compared to a modern racebike are the drum brakes. Oh, and the gearshift being on the right side, which is also a completely new thing for me, so you must be very focused not to make a mistake

– I decided to not use the rear brake at all, to avoid the risk of braking with the gear lever! It worked okay – I didn’t have any problems in the end. But it’s really interestin­g to go back to the past in this way, and see how they used to do things back then, which, for whatever reason, got changed for today.

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