Izan Guevara: "I hope I get to MotoGP and Marc Márquez is still there to face him"

"I was already a bit tired of Moto3, all the riders came out behind me and took advantage, I could only pull them"

MADRID, 29 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish Moto3 rider Izan Guevara (GasGas), brand-new champion of the category, hopes that if at any time he goes up to MotoGP, which will be when "the body" asks him to, his compatriot and benchmark Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) will still be there ) to face him, at the same time that he celebrated a "consistency" based and that gave him "relief".

"Of course there is relief. I am super grateful, for all the work that has been behind it. When I crossed the finish line, my mind was blank, I screamed inside the helmet, some tears fell... It was an incredible feeling", confessed the Balearic Islands in an interview with Europa Press.

Guevara, 18 years old, was proclaimed Moto3 world champion two weeks ago in Australia, after winning the race, ahead of the Turkish Deniz Öncü (KYM) and his teammate Sergio García Dols, in which he started seventh to come back and achieve the 56th title of Spanish motorcycling in the World Championship.

The Balearic became the 23rd Spanish world champion driver, thanks to his 290 points, with a wide margin of 65 units over the Castellón-born García Dols (225 points). And for the Mallorcan, the "key" has been "constancy." "We didn't have it at the beginning, with the sanction in Qatar, we broke the engine in Argentina when we were leading, in Austin another sanction...", he recalled about the beginning, although later everything improved.

"From Jerez to Assen we added six podiums to put us just three points behind García Dols before the holidays, but the return leg was complicated. In Misano I put myself first for the first time, to later get two wins in Aragón and Suzuka and have the first ball of the match, although in the end it came to Australia. I was very nervous, with many interviews and wheels, but it passed as the days went by. The ten minutes before the race seemed very short, and once it started I felt very comfortable It was very calm, we managed it very well," he added.

For this reason, Guevara stressed the importance of perseverance in Moto3, as it is "such a competitive category". "The important thing is not to score zero, because later you will notice, the points at the end of the season have come in handy," he added.

"I feel more comfortable pulling by myself, if I lead I am aware of what I am doing. If I am behind, there is the possibility that they will take me ahead. I already train alone, and in the race it is the same", he commented on his style , in a year in which he has accumulated six victories and eleven podiums in 18 races.

Already with the title in his pocket, in his second year in the World Championship, on his closest horizon is Moto2, a category in which the work done this season will have been "very good". "I was already a bit tired of Moto3, all the riders came out behind me and took advantage, I could only pull them", he confessed about his dominance in Moto3, the "most intense" category.

Guevara was able to choose between several suitors to be promoted to Moto2, but he decided to continue under the guidance of Jorge Martínez 'Aspar'. The Spaniard was "faithful" to his team, since the four-time world champion has placed "a lot of trust" in him.

Although he will arrive "a little blind" in Moto2, Guevara will try to "prepare the preseason as well as possible", to "be in the points in the first race". "I set myself a goal for the season to be in the 'Top 10,'" he said.

For this, he is aware that he will have to prepare "much more" on a physical level, something that he has not needed this season. "You can build a champion driver, but if you are born with the qualities, you have a lot to gain. They tell me that I have a lot of talent and I make the least effort, and it is true that I train just enough, but it goes well for me, it has not meant a physical challenge," he confessed.

"I go to my ball. When I'm on the track I work a lot, and there's always laughter when the day ends. I have a very controlled mental issue, at the moment," he said with a smile regarding psychological preparation.

Guevara's title is the eighth for Balearic drivers, after Jorge Lorenzo's five World Championships and Joan Mir's two. "When I lived in Mallorca, I remember enjoying that time a lot, because there was a healthy clash with Mir. I went with Moto4, we were always lowering the time, we celebrated it. That time helped me a lot to progress as a rider," he recalled.

"In the Balearic Islands you work well, I don't know why so many riders leave there, in the end there is only one circuit. We try to lower the records we have there with the bikes and any improvement makes you happy, you get the most out of a circuit and when you go out outside makes you set the goal of going down each lap. I've been training there since I was six years old, I don't know if it will be the ensaimadas or the sobrasada", he joked.

His recent and premature success in Moto3 will allow him to move up to Moto2 with great force, although he still sees MotoGP a long way. "Throughout my career I've been going through all the categories, trying to change being in the Top 3. I'm not in a hurry to go up, I change category when my body asks for it," he argued, although he does have a wish for when that time comes.

"Hopefully he gets to MotoGP and Marc Márquez is still there to face him. He's the one who gives emotion to everything, makes hair stand on end with his overtaking. I'm left with his aggressiveness and his self-confidence," he praised the eight-time champion of the world.

Finally, and after a healthy and fruitful rivalry with his teammate Sergio García Dols, Guevara will once again face Pedro Acosta in Moto2, with whom he rivaled before jumping to the World Championship, and whom he now sees "one step above" after a first course in the category. "For me it will be a year of learning and enjoying, he will be a sure title candidate," he warned.