• Protagonist: Aleix Espargaró, a pilot who says: "I also have super Spanish friends"

«I remember my first trip. A few months ago Derbi had called me to run the 125cc World Cup with them and I was excited, freaking out with everything, it was a dream. The first two races were in Jerez and Estoril and the family accompanied me, but the third was in China, in Shanghai. My father even wrote me a letter to read on the plane. He was 16 years old. I flew alone and upon arrival some mechanics of the team were waiting for me at the airport, who were all Italian and only chattering the Castilian. There I realized the difficulty of being professional, that I had to mature suddenly, that it is not all so beautiful. He was a child in a world that is not easy, ”says Nico Terol , 125cc world champion in 2011, about his beginnings in 2005 and, like him, so many pilots.

In the memory of the protagonists of the World Cup, there is always a raw moment, perhaps too much: the arrival at the championship, the first trip, the debut race. In some cases, the track results were extraordinary from the start, but in all there were complications to adapt to the new lifestyle, the pressure, everything that surrounds the asphalt. There is no sport that forces an awakening so early and sudden.

Because of the importance of categories such as Moto3 and its itinerant nature, to reach MotoGP you must go through an abrupt start: at 15 or 16, leave home and leave studies to go around the world with the weight of a team To the back. From the beginning, around there are sponsors, media and followers and, among them, the important thing: the adaptation to a new motorcycle, to new circuits, to new rivals.

“It's not easy, the jump to the World Cup is big and they usually do it very soon. They are kids who suddenly find themselves in an adult environment where there is a lot at stake. That is why we, in the first years, ask that the father or mother accompany them and, therefore, we have a very clear philosophy: we do not demand victories or podiums, only that they are workers, humble, that they listen to the people of the team and maintain the stability. Do not come down if there are bad results, but above all do not come up if a good one comes, ”says Jordi Arquer , responsible for one of the structures that allows, despite the precocity, broken toys are few. Arquer directs the Estrella Galicia 0,0 of Moto3 that this year has Sergio García and Alonso López , 16 and 17 years old, and, at the same time, coordinates the Junior Team, the school, the quarry.

That is the trick. The riders who promise in the categories of children become semi-professionals at 13 or 14 years old, learn the trade mostly in the Junior World Cup held between Spain, France and Portugal and then integrate into platforms that even reach MotoGP. There are the Spanish teams Estrella Galicia 0,0, Ángel Nieto Team or Avinta Racing, but also the Italian Team VR46, SIC58 Squadra Corse or Gresini Racing, the Finnish Ajo Motorsport or the Luxemburg Leopard.

“For me, the key is that they are already trained as pilots and as people. Although they are very young in the Junior World Cup they learn a lot and, as many climb within their own structures, it is all easier. Since I know them I try to instill above all tranquility, patience. You have to know how to get there and then how to stay. The World Cup demands a lot from adolescence, sports and personal level, and you must remain calm. Do not pressure yourself at the beginning, but do not believe it too much, ”adds Terol, who now serves as a youth teacher for Angel Nieto Team. His experience is a whole teaching: he triumphed in 125cc, but he was choked a year in Moto2 and in 2014, at 26, he was already out of the championship.

Like others, without training in other areas, he stayed under the shelter of the paddock who, yes, returns what he demands from young people. In some cases, in the form of second opportunities, such as the one Fabio Quartararo received this year after being shipwrecked in Moto3 and Moto2 and, in others, in the form of secondary jobs with which to keep. A ride through the motorhomes allows to see many riders who did not arrive at MotoGP, such as Terol, Julián Simón, Efrén Vázquez, Sergio Gadea, Álex Debón or Ricky Cardús , acting as assistants to other riders, as testers or as commentators.

«The case of Fabio is the clear example that, although adaptation is difficult, if you work, it always comes out in the end. From the outside it may seem so, but I don't think you have to raise your age to reach the World Cup. In other sports, teenagers are also required, although here the difference is perhaps travel and that the categories where the riders are still being trained, such as Moto3 or Moto2, have a lot of follow-up on television », concludes Arquer, who directed the promotion to MotoGP of pilots like Marc Márquez, Álex Rins, Álex Márquez or Franco Morbidelli .

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