Arón Canet will never forget Portimão. It was on the Portuguese track that he achieved his first victory in Moto2. The team manager of Fantic, Roberto Locatelli, praised the Spanish rider, even comparing him to Casey Stoner.
‘I experienced this feeling nine times as a rider, but winning for the first time as a team manager made me feel like a child in an amusement park again. Standing on the podium and seeing my rider getting emotional during the national anthem brought back all the feelings, it was like entering Disney World, with a movie starting in your head,’ recalled the former rider who became world champion in the former 125cc in 2000, to the Fantic Motor website.
‘It’s like touching something that makes you feel invincible. […] I wanted to make that moment last as long as possible. I remember the day I won the world title in Japan. I slowed down on the victory lap to ensure that I could experience all the emotions for longer. I did the same in Portimão for Arón Canet. It was a very strong feeling, with Arón, who had never won in Moto2, with Fantic who entrusted me with this team manager position – and we made it happen in the second race of the season. Winning alongside them made him feel as special as my own victories. There was also some pressure after the missed opportunity in the first race, but you never have to show that because you have to take the pressure off the rider. It’s a bit like being a father and Arón Canet is like my son at a sporting level,’ he pointed out.
‘From my point of view, what we have in our favor is the best Moto2 rider. If you put him on the bike, just by instinct, he makes me think of Casey Stoner. We were teammates, and when there was still a qualifying session, both on Fridays and Saturdays, the time he set on Friday was still at the top of the standings on Saturday as well. It was simply overwhelming, explosive performance. I’m not saying Arón is the same, but he reminds me of that. Sometimes, there are similarities between riders […] and in the way he expresses speed, Arón reminds me of Casey. That’s something I noticed since I started working with him, since that first day of testing after the Valencia GP in 2023’, explained.
‘Arón is very explosive and it is necessary to manage that explosiveness. I feel he is showing that he can manage it. It’s his own traction control, not an electronic button, but mental. If he continues to activate it at the right moment, it is very likely that we will see him constantly fighting for the top positions as it happened in Portimão’, Locatelli also said.
At this time, Canet leads the Moto2 World Championship with 31 points, two more than Joe Roberts.
