“We want to fight for the podium in the second part of the season”
19/07/2022The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider is making great progress in his first year with the team, finishing the first half of the season as the best rookie in Moto3.
Dani Holgado came into the Moto3 World Championship season off the back of an injury suffered in February. Despite this, the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider quickly adapted to the class, and now has two front row starts to his name and has been able to fight for the top positions in several races. He reveals the keys to his progress and explains how he faces this second half of the season.
How was the start to your first season in the Moto3 World Championship?
“The start was quite positive, because we had good races especially the last two races. Some have been a little more difficult, but that’s normal in a rookie season. I can make a very positive assessment of this first half of the campaign.”
You ended the first half of 2022 as the top rookie. Did you expect to make such a quick adaptation?
“I expected to be leading the top rookie standings. Last year I won the FIM JuniorGP and practically all the new riders this season have also come from that competition. In that way, you know the other riders better and I expected to be up there.”
What have you found most difficult at the beginning of the year?
“Perhaps what I find most difficult is adapting to new circuits. It’s normal, because you don’t know them and you lack a bit of experience, so you struggle a bit. However, I think I have been able to handle it well, because at all the tracks I wasn’t familiar with, we have been up to scratch.”
What are your strengths?
“I have improved a lot in races this year, as I’ve learned to manage them better and adapt to the different situations that might arise. At Austin and Portimao I had two crashes, and from that moment I learned to be calmer. The races are longer and, except for the two DNFs that I have had, in the rest of the races I have done very well.”
“I have learnt to manage the races better and we have achieved good results in the first half of the championship.”
What does Jaume Masia give you as a teammate?
“Jaume gives me very good things, as he has much more experience than me in Moto3 and I can learn a lot from him. We help each other and have good teamwork when we need it. Clearly, having him on the other side of the box has been very good for me this year.”
What goal have you set for this second half of the season?
“The goal for me and the team is to try to finish as many races as possible in the front group. Between now and the end of the season, I would like to get a podium, and we have shown that we are strong and that we can be competitive. We have already started from the front row, so the podium is the next objective. I believe that if we continue working in the same way, we can achieve it.”
How are you going to spend the summer break?
“I took the first two weeks off. Now it’s time to focus on training and preparing to return to action as strong as possible. I will have a few more days off, but we have to train hard to be able to fight for our goals.”