Alonso champion at Motegi
The MotoGP world championship saw its first world champion this year in the last Japanese Grand Prix, where the tenth seasonal victory of David Alonso allowed the Colombian to enter the roll of honor, becoming the first representative of his nation to do so at the age of 18. A rapid growth made possible also by the support of another champion of the then 125cc as Nico TerolTeam Manager of the Aspar team (same team that will welcome Alonso in 2025 in Moto2) and who played a fundamental role in the Colombian’s progression from the minor series to the world title he just won.
Comparisons from another champion
Interviewed by AS on the eve of the Motegi weekend, before the celebrations even began, the 2011 champion had expressed his considerations on Alonso, going beyond the Colombian’s qualities on the track: “David is special as a personand I say this beyond his talent which has an increasing value – he explained – when you have an advantage like his, you have a 20% insecurity that tells you that you must not fail, that you must score points against drivers who have nothing to lose. I had nothing to lose in Márquez’s title year, and it was much easier to attack there than in 2011, the year of my title. When I saw the title close, that 20% of insecurity weighs more, even more so in a category like Moto3, where all it takes is a blink of an eye and eight riders pass in front of you. David has a driving clarity within the reach of few, of a Márquez or an Acosta. It’s too early to talk, but what he’s doing in the minor category already shows that he has this clarity.”
The first steps with Aspar
Terol indicated two important names such as Marquez and Acosta, with the Aspar Team Manager explaining what the needs were of following Alonso in the team founded by Jorge Aspar since he was a child: “I have worked with many riders since I started in the Junior class with Aspar: Morelli, David, Holgado, Ortolá, Raúl Fernández, Ogden – quoted the 36 year old – many riders who are in the MotoGP today, but since he was a child I told Jorge that I would follow David. What caught my attention was the person, who was the most complete in so many ways. When I signed him he was on another team and he looked at us as if he admired us, as if he said ‘Wow! The Aspar team. One thing that surprised me was that he shook my hand and told me: “It’s Nico Terol”. I often saw him in the pits, because his bike often broke down. I asked him not to speak badly of the team. This allowed me to pay more attention to him in the 85cc CEV, and he was making the most of what he had. That’s when I told Aspar that there was a boy who needed to be given a chance to learn. The first race he did with us in 2018 he won and it was brutal. One thing that made the difference – continued Terol – is that David trusted us so much in the internships that he took everything we told him. Usually pilots feel at ease and use only 60% of the tools given to them, but not him, he used everything one thousand percent. He had full faith in the team, in me, in Jorge and you could immediately see that he was special. You never know where he might end up, but he was good as a person and as a rider, he has a method since he was a child, very intelligent. He’s a boy who he wins and the next day he asks you what he can improve and this is exceptional“.
Terol: an older brother
A victory in Moto3 that adds to the long curriculum of successes obtained with the Aspar team in recent years, with Terol who wants and will always want the best for him: “He won the CEV 85cc, the European Talent Cup and the Red Bull Rookies Cup. He didn’t win the FIM Junior, but he was developing the bike he now races in the World Championship. Now he deserves to win the Moto3 title. The race in Indonesia was a champion’s race and the situation he finds himself in now was unimaginable at the beginning of the year. I feel like a big brother and I want the best for David and I will give it to him as long as I can. I have a great relationship with him and I feel very proud of what a good person he is and how much I have contributed to him, and he to me, because we feed off each other and I learn a lot from him. I wish him the best and, if one day I don’t have to join him and there is someone else who joins him, I would wish the best for him.”
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