Monster Energy Honda Team reconvenes for the Rallye du Maroc

We made it to Morocco. It’s been two years since we were last here. Unfortunately Covid slowed us down. We’re here a little bit early, doing some roadbook work and testing of the motorcycle. It’s great to be back here with the team. There’s nothing on the line, so we don’t want to get hurt. We’re just here practicing and I think that showtime for all the riders will be in Saudia Arabia. So for now we’re watching our roadbooks and enjoying the Moroccan desert.

I’m very happy to be back in Morocco after two years, to meet up with the team again, as we haven't been able to get together during the year. We test the bike a bit before the race, to gain confidence with the desert here, which is very hard. We will try to have a constant, solid race and minimise possible mistakes. We need to check that everything is fine so that we arrive at the Dakar with the right set-up. This is the main objective. We're not under any pressure, because we're not competing in the world championship either, so... let's enjoy the race!

There is always a desire to race. It's been a strange year and we haven't been able to compete like we used to. We have been training and doing some tests during the year, but this race is really the prelude to the Dakar Rally and it will show us the direction we are going in and if we need to change anything in terms of training. It will be my second race with the Monster Energy Honda Team, but the first one with the whole team together. I'm getting to know the whole team and I'm very motivated to take part in this race.

The truth is that we are very anxious to be able to participate in this Rallye du Maroc after almost two years without being able to compete here in Morocco because of the pandemic. Fortunately, this year we were able to race in the Andalucía Rally and in the Baja Aragón, where I won both races; they are not just another part of the preparation for the Dakar. But the Rallye du Maroc is the big pre-Dakar, so we are going to approach it in the correct way and do as many kilometres as possible to get into the swing of the race to be able to fully prepare for Saudi Arabia.

It is very important for us to be here again in Morocco, after more than a year's absence due to the COVID-19 issue. First of all, I would like to congratulate the organisation, who have been fighting for us to be able to organise this race. From my point of view, it is the most important race after the Dakar because we are taking part with the full preparation ahead of the Dakar. The riders will be following the new Dakar rules for the first time. This time we have the four team riders and part of the team structure that will go to Saudi Arabia next January. It will be a good time to grease the machinery and get the whole team set up. The main objective is to race without problems, without any crashes and to leave here with a bike ready to race and with the riders all in one piece and after having done many kilometres of navigation, because it will be a key issue at next races. We are not too worried about the final result of the race because, on the one hand, we are not competing in the world championship and on the other, we are very close to the Dakar. For me, the team is great, we are working well together and we are going to be careful in the run-up to what for us is the most important race of the year.