GixerGaz
12-12-2006, 13:27
Spanish rider Fonsi Nieto did extremely well in 2006, especially in the second half of the season when he proved he was up there with the best of them in SBK. His tenth overall place in the championship points table was made even more satisfying by the first podium place of his career. In short, a truly major achievement. But that was last season: now Nieto is looking forward to 2007 with even greater confidence, and is determined to maintain his progress and win at least one race.
- How are you preparing for next season?
“I took a short break after the Magny Cours race, but I re-started training a while back now, and I was already in good shape for the Valencia test session. I’m quite happy with the way those two days went because some of the improvements we tried out proved really effective. I even managed to knock a second of last year’s lap time with race tyres on. We’ve got more work to do in Qatar and Australia, of course, and we need to carry on improving there too.”
- Team PSG-1 improved dramatically during the course of last season. What do you think you can achieve in 2007?
“Everybody is working fantastically well. I never thought I’d find myself riding for such a great team as this. Team PSG-1 is the most professional outfit I’ve ever been with in my whole career. Last season I got on really well with both my colleagues and I must say I was sorry to see Walker leaving us. But with just two riders the team can concentrate its efforts even more and I’m sure that this will lead to some great results next season. Everybody in San Marino, where the team is based, is working really hard. I’m confident we can do really well next season.”
- Has SBK grown in popularity in Spain?
“SBK’s following in Spain has got a lot bigger thanks to Telecinco’s broadcasts and thanks to the fact that Ruben Xaus and myself are both Spanish. People are always stopping me on the street to ask about SBK. That has to be a good sign.”
- What’s your forecast or 2007. Who are your own favourites to win the championship?
“It’s always difficult to try and guess the outcome of a SBK championship. Because we’ve all got the same tyres there are a number of riders who’ve got what it takes to win. As far as I’m concerned, my objective is to win at least one race.”
- What do you think about the arrival of Biaggi?
“Biaggi’s a great rider. It’ no coincidence that he’s a four times world champion. After a year out, he’s back with a vengeance and he’s got a team of great managers and mechanics behind him too. Even the bike has been impressive. We all need to look out for Biaggi as a possible candidate for the world title.”
- How are you preparing for next season?
“I took a short break after the Magny Cours race, but I re-started training a while back now, and I was already in good shape for the Valencia test session. I’m quite happy with the way those two days went because some of the improvements we tried out proved really effective. I even managed to knock a second of last year’s lap time with race tyres on. We’ve got more work to do in Qatar and Australia, of course, and we need to carry on improving there too.”
- Team PSG-1 improved dramatically during the course of last season. What do you think you can achieve in 2007?
“Everybody is working fantastically well. I never thought I’d find myself riding for such a great team as this. Team PSG-1 is the most professional outfit I’ve ever been with in my whole career. Last season I got on really well with both my colleagues and I must say I was sorry to see Walker leaving us. But with just two riders the team can concentrate its efforts even more and I’m sure that this will lead to some great results next season. Everybody in San Marino, where the team is based, is working really hard. I’m confident we can do really well next season.”
- Has SBK grown in popularity in Spain?
“SBK’s following in Spain has got a lot bigger thanks to Telecinco’s broadcasts and thanks to the fact that Ruben Xaus and myself are both Spanish. People are always stopping me on the street to ask about SBK. That has to be a good sign.”
- What’s your forecast or 2007. Who are your own favourites to win the championship?
“It’s always difficult to try and guess the outcome of a SBK championship. Because we’ve all got the same tyres there are a number of riders who’ve got what it takes to win. As far as I’m concerned, my objective is to win at least one race.”
- What do you think about the arrival of Biaggi?
“Biaggi’s a great rider. It’ no coincidence that he’s a four times world champion. After a year out, he’s back with a vengeance and he’s got a team of great managers and mechanics behind him too. Even the bike has been impressive. We all need to look out for Biaggi as a possible candidate for the world title.”