with ... Carlos Campano

For Youthstream Juan Pablo Acevedo catches up with Carlos Campano.  This is probably one of the best news that the Spanish rider has ever received in his whole professional career, but this is like a reward for all the huge effort Campano and his team have made in the last few years.

In 2010 Campano handed Yamaha the FIM MX3 World Title, the only offroad award the Japanese brand obtained last season. In Winchester Campano proved that the FIM MX3 World Title was not a matter of luck and showed that with a more competitive bike he can fight with any of the best riders of the World.

Campano finished 10th in the British Grand Prix, the best result this season, and this is how he felt after his experience on the Monster Energy Yamaha.  

You have just finished your first race as a Monster Energy Yamaha rider, how are your first impressions?

I am really happy, during the whole weekend I have felt extremely well on the bike. I did not know that the difference between my bike and the factory bike was so big, but being able to ride two seconds faster per lap, it helps to overtake easily and even recover some positions if you are back in the pack. Besides, if you manage to have a good start, you can fight with the first five riders, something which I have never been able to do until now. This has been my first race with this bike and I almost did it.

In the second heat you had a good start and if the race had not been red flagged, you would have been able to finish even second, what were you thinking then?

To tell you the truth, I was not really thinking during the race. I had a good start and I was fourth when Pourcel crashed, and I felt really comfortable riding in the third position. Frossard was a bit faster but I could follow him without any problem and I realized that we had opened a gap with the rest of the pack and I felt like I could push Simpson, who was riding second, but then I saw the red flag. I was felling really comfortable and with a good rhythm, so if the race had not have been stopped, I think I could have finished at the top.

In the first race you crashed in the first corner, were you a little bit nervous at the start?

The team had been telling me during the whole weekend not to have any pressure and they did not ask me for a result, they only told me to enjoy the ride. But personally, having a bike which lets you be among the top riders and which has even won several Grand Prix this season, it gave me the opportunity to proof that with a better bike I could be competitive. I think that I have really made most of it and I had really enjoyed the experience, as it is definitely more exciting riding at the front that at the back of the pack. I was not that lucky in the first heat because I crash at the start, but then I was able to ride quite fast and in the second moto I had another opportunity to ride at the front.

Do you think you can ride at the front in the next two races?

I know that I am at the same level with the other riders and I have the same weapons. The starts will be very important, but the next race in Gaildorf will be harder because it is hard pack and all the riders go really fast. But I have a good bike and the experience in Matterley Basin has given me more confidence to obtain a good result in the upcoming two Grand Prix.

Do you think that if you had had this bike during the whole season, you could have been able to fight for a podium?

It is very difficult to say. It is true that in the last Grand Prix I have felt better and in the last races I have obtained good results, but this year it has been very difficult for me, as I underwent many problems and I am sure that without them I could have been more at the front in the Championship. This bike has helped me to make a big step forward and I hope to make the most of it in the upcoming two races, as I don’t know what it will happen next year.

What are the main differences among your bike and the factory Yamaha?

This bike lets me do whatever I think, I struggled much more with my bike and made me make many more mistakes. With the factory bike I feel able to overtake any rider and battle for a position, something which was impossible with my bike.

Do you think that obtaining good results in the next two rounds can help you to have more opportunities to get better material next season?

I don’t want to think much about next season, I have done a good race in Matterley Basin, but this is only one race, and this experience is more to prove to myself that I can go fast with a better bike.

Carlos Campano with the new Monster Energy Yamaha - Photo courtesy of Youthstream -  Photographer: Juan Pablo Acevedo