Tark
24-08-2005, 09:20 PM
Talking to the stars: Miguel Praia
At the European round of the 2005 World Superbike Championship held at Silverstone last weekend, the DFXtreme Sterilgarda team kindly opened up their hospitality facilities to several members of RiOT Racing. The team's rider, Miguel Praia, took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. Here's what he had to say on the evening before race day:
Miguel, as a rider in the World Superbike Championship, race fans in the UK are obviously aware of your name but probably don't know too much about your background. Could I start by asking you a little about your past and how you graduated to this series?
Basically, I got into racing because my elder brother was doing it and I wanted to have a go as well. I started in 1997 and enjoyed success reasonably quickly, winning the Portuguese Aprilia National 125cc challenge in the year 2000 and then landing the Portuguese Superbike Championship in 2002 and 2003. In Portugal, our Superbike class is 600cc based so I won both my titles aboard a CBR 600. I also raced at Macau but my real highlight from those years was my 250GP wild card entry in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is a new circuit currently being constructed in Portugal and at that time they were looking for a rider who could publicise the facility to a global audience. Being only 26 and Portuguese, I was considered a good choice so they placed me into the Xerox Ducati Nortel World Superbike team last year. Without going into too many details, I didn't really get along with either the bike or the way the team was set up. This year I've moved to the DFXtreme Sterilgarda team aboard a Yamaha YZF R1 and I'm much happier. All the technicians speak Portuguese and the bike is a 4-cylinder machine which I feel much more comfortable with. If you look at my qualifying times, last year I was nowhere but today after the second session I was only three seconds from pole. I know that in real terms three seconds is a lot, but you need to remember that in Portugal the national level racing scene is nowhere near as competitive as the Spanish series or the British series. I'd never even raced on slicks before I came to WSB, but now there's so much to learn: settings, suspension, tyres. For me, the jump to world level is a huge one, but the main thing is I'm very happy with this team and I'm giving it everything I can.
The impression we have in the UK is that Portugal is very street-racing based. Is that the case?
No, not really. The problem is that we only have two major tracks. Estoril is nice but the other is really twisty. That should all change when the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is finished - it will be a great circuit.
Of course whenever we talk about World Superbikes in the RiOT Racing marquee, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos always mentions you. What's your relationship with Jorge and how did you become in RiOT's Portuguese set up?
I met Jorge for the first time last year and straight away we got on really well. I guess that's because we do different aspects of the same job - him as a team owner and myself as a rider. I knew that he was trying to build a team in Portugal, and being reasonably well known as an international rider over there I was asked to become the team's patron. I've been to a team party and met the squad's rider, Nuno. If there's some way that my experience as a rider can benefit the team then I'm happy to help out.
Yes, well stay on the right side of Nuno and you'll never have a problem getting back into Portugal, of course..
Note: Nuno is a Portuguese customs officer. Miguel winced as I made this comment so I hurriedly switched to my next question…
Moving on to Silverstone, the shorter International circuit layout this weekend is different to the full Grand Prix track you used last year. How are you finding the difference?
The layout this year is a lot more fun for sure, but I have a feeling my bike would have run better on the full circuit that we used in 2004. That layout has a lot more fast straights to it. Our Yamahas are the only ones running fuel injection, which makes them very aggressive to ride. On the straights they're fine, but they're difficult to handle through the tight twisty sections.
So if you're struggling on the turns how do you find the Luffield complex of hairpins? That final turn onto the start/finish straight is more like a road junction than a bend on a racing circuit…
(Laughs) Listen man, I could go through there faster on a scooter than a motorcycle! That bend would be tricky on a bicycle, even.
This morning, Ireland bend also gave me problems, it's very bumpy there and it was hard to get the power on for Abbey. This afternoon though I knew what to expect and now it's not so bad.
And what about the wind? It was pretty strong today - has that affected your times?
Yes a little. It pushes you wide at Woodcote and then as you come off the start/finish straight it wants to force you to run straight on into the gravel traps. It's the same for everyone though, I guess.
I then went on to recount the incident at the MRO Powerbike meeting held at Silverstone the previous weekend where a hospitality tent was blown over the safety fencing and onto the track forcing the rest of the day's racing to be abandoned. Miguel's team, all of whom had been chatting away happily in Portuguese to each other, suddenly stopped and stared at me open-mouthed.
So what's the verdict for tomorrow's races?
Overall, I'm pretty happy. I'm on almost the same time as Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas). It's a shame we didn't move further up the grid this afternoon but we qualified using a full tank of fuel and have found a good tyre. There was less than four seconds covering the entire field after Superpole. I just need to stay with the pack on the opening laps, I'll fight for every place and I won't give up at any time over the full distance.
I'm sure you won't, Miguel. That sounds like a good place to end, thanks for your time.
No worries, it was a pleasure.
Towards the end of the first race, Miguel looked set for a 14th place finish but was relegated a further position by Alessio Valleni (Ducati) on the last couple of laps. Miguel crashed out in the second race, sore but otherwise uninjured, at the Luffield hairpin complex but at least took solace that he had achieved the sub 1:30.00 lap time which RiOT Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos had urged of him all weekend. With 5 of the season's 12 rounds now complete, Miguel occupies 29th place in the championship.
My impression of Miguel was of a thoroughly nice bloke who is currently climbing a mountain to raise his game to world championship level. In many ways Miguel is the epitome of the production-based and private-team roots which World Superbikes sprang from in the late 1980's. Having such a good domestic championship here in the UK it's easy to forget how vast the gulf between a national and world series can be, but I for one hope that Miguel can bridge the gap.
At the European round of the 2005 World Superbike Championship held at Silverstone last weekend, the DFXtreme Sterilgarda team kindly opened up their hospitality facilities to several members of RiOT Racing. The team's rider, Miguel Praia, took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. Here's what he had to say on the evening before race day:
Miguel, as a rider in the World Superbike Championship, race fans in the UK are obviously aware of your name but probably don't know too much about your background. Could I start by asking you a little about your past and how you graduated to this series?
Basically, I got into racing because my elder brother was doing it and I wanted to have a go as well. I started in 1997 and enjoyed success reasonably quickly, winning the Portuguese Aprilia National 125cc challenge in the year 2000 and then landing the Portuguese Superbike Championship in 2002 and 2003. In Portugal, our Superbike class is 600cc based so I won both my titles aboard a CBR 600. I also raced at Macau but my real highlight from those years was my 250GP wild card entry in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is a new circuit currently being constructed in Portugal and at that time they were looking for a rider who could publicise the facility to a global audience. Being only 26 and Portuguese, I was considered a good choice so they placed me into the Xerox Ducati Nortel World Superbike team last year. Without going into too many details, I didn't really get along with either the bike or the way the team was set up. This year I've moved to the DFXtreme Sterilgarda team aboard a Yamaha YZF R1 and I'm much happier. All the technicians speak Portuguese and the bike is a 4-cylinder machine which I feel much more comfortable with. If you look at my qualifying times, last year I was nowhere but today after the second session I was only three seconds from pole. I know that in real terms three seconds is a lot, but you need to remember that in Portugal the national level racing scene is nowhere near as competitive as the Spanish series or the British series. I'd never even raced on slicks before I came to WSB, but now there's so much to learn: settings, suspension, tyres. For me, the jump to world level is a huge one, but the main thing is I'm very happy with this team and I'm giving it everything I can.
The impression we have in the UK is that Portugal is very street-racing based. Is that the case?
No, not really. The problem is that we only have two major tracks. Estoril is nice but the other is really twisty. That should all change when the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is finished - it will be a great circuit.
Of course whenever we talk about World Superbikes in the RiOT Racing marquee, Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos always mentions you. What's your relationship with Jorge and how did you become in RiOT's Portuguese set up?
I met Jorge for the first time last year and straight away we got on really well. I guess that's because we do different aspects of the same job - him as a team owner and myself as a rider. I knew that he was trying to build a team in Portugal, and being reasonably well known as an international rider over there I was asked to become the team's patron. I've been to a team party and met the squad's rider, Nuno. If there's some way that my experience as a rider can benefit the team then I'm happy to help out.
Yes, well stay on the right side of Nuno and you'll never have a problem getting back into Portugal, of course..
Note: Nuno is a Portuguese customs officer. Miguel winced as I made this comment so I hurriedly switched to my next question…
Moving on to Silverstone, the shorter International circuit layout this weekend is different to the full Grand Prix track you used last year. How are you finding the difference?
The layout this year is a lot more fun for sure, but I have a feeling my bike would have run better on the full circuit that we used in 2004. That layout has a lot more fast straights to it. Our Yamahas are the only ones running fuel injection, which makes them very aggressive to ride. On the straights they're fine, but they're difficult to handle through the tight twisty sections.
So if you're struggling on the turns how do you find the Luffield complex of hairpins? That final turn onto the start/finish straight is more like a road junction than a bend on a racing circuit…
(Laughs) Listen man, I could go through there faster on a scooter than a motorcycle! That bend would be tricky on a bicycle, even.
This morning, Ireland bend also gave me problems, it's very bumpy there and it was hard to get the power on for Abbey. This afternoon though I knew what to expect and now it's not so bad.
And what about the wind? It was pretty strong today - has that affected your times?
Yes a little. It pushes you wide at Woodcote and then as you come off the start/finish straight it wants to force you to run straight on into the gravel traps. It's the same for everyone though, I guess.
I then went on to recount the incident at the MRO Powerbike meeting held at Silverstone the previous weekend where a hospitality tent was blown over the safety fencing and onto the track forcing the rest of the day's racing to be abandoned. Miguel's team, all of whom had been chatting away happily in Portuguese to each other, suddenly stopped and stared at me open-mouthed.
So what's the verdict for tomorrow's races?
Overall, I'm pretty happy. I'm on almost the same time as Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas). It's a shame we didn't move further up the grid this afternoon but we qualified using a full tank of fuel and have found a good tyre. There was less than four seconds covering the entire field after Superpole. I just need to stay with the pack on the opening laps, I'll fight for every place and I won't give up at any time over the full distance.
I'm sure you won't, Miguel. That sounds like a good place to end, thanks for your time.
No worries, it was a pleasure.
Towards the end of the first race, Miguel looked set for a 14th place finish but was relegated a further position by Alessio Valleni (Ducati) on the last couple of laps. Miguel crashed out in the second race, sore but otherwise uninjured, at the Luffield hairpin complex but at least took solace that he had achieved the sub 1:30.00 lap time which RiOT Team Owner Jorge Vairinhos had urged of him all weekend. With 5 of the season's 12 rounds now complete, Miguel occupies 29th place in the championship.
My impression of Miguel was of a thoroughly nice bloke who is currently climbing a mountain to raise his game to world championship level. In many ways Miguel is the epitome of the production-based and private-team roots which World Superbikes sprang from in the late 1980's. Having such a good domestic championship here in the UK it's easy to forget how vast the gulf between a national and world series can be, but I for one hope that Miguel can bridge the gap.