FAST TALK | DAVID ALONSO

David Alonso is ripping up trees in the Moto3 category this year. But it’s not just his speed raising eyebrows…

It’s a dangerous game hyping racers up when they’re still in their teens. Each year, Moto3 churns out a handful of new, spotty superstars-in-waiting who quickly get eaten up at the next level. Some work out how to swim amidst the barbarity of Moto2, others get swallowed whole, rendering all previous hype foolish. For every Joan Mir or Pedro Acosta there’s a Lorenzo Dalla Porta or Danny Kent. 

Yet even when keeping that in mind, it’s still difficult to contain excitement at the class’s next big thing. David Alonso doesn’t just have Valentino Rossi’s win record for a single season (11) in Grand Prix’s lightweight category in his sights (he’s on seven with nine races still to play); and he hasn’t just made this year’s title race feel like it’s already over at the halfway stage; it’s how his approach is at times reminiscent of serial 500cc champion Mick Doohan, and how he’s bringing new ideas to the sport. See: meditation. More than anything, it’s how, despite the spike in attention and accumulation of silverware in 2024, he remains one of the politest, friendliest, most grounded teenagers in the entire paddock. 

The recent Austrian Grand Prix was the latest case in point. Alonso was below par (by his standards) in qualifying. Ivan Ortola, who had been recently chipping away at his healthy championship lead, took pole, while he was sixth. Worse still, the FIM Stewards deemed he was riding excessively slow in the session and threw a long-lap penalty his way for the race the following day. 

The response was entirely befitting of a future champion. Alonso not only held his hands up and accepted the penalty was his error; once he completed his penalty, he bridged the 3.5sec gap to the five-rider lead group, stormed past all of them, and held his nerve on the final lap. He then spent the majority of his parc ferme interview apologising to his team for the previous day’s misdemeanour. These aren’t quite the workings of your average teenager. 

That follows a pattern of Alonso’s world championship career. From last August’s British Grand Prix, which he emerged victorious despite qualifying 26th on the grid,
he has gone on to win 50 percent of the races (11 from 22). Not bad for a rider in the second half of his debut season, and the first half of his second. 

After a number of years when Moto3 was more of a lottery, pulling a name out of a hat of 20 to decide a winner, recent years have rewarded those who work well (and alone) over a race weekend. But still, racecraft comes into it. And more often than not, you back the 18-year-old to succeed in the usual Moto3 dust-up. So, what’s his secret? 

“I try to do my best in racing,” he told AMCN in a long sit-down interview before the summer break. “I try not to just race but to think while I’m on the bike. Meanwhile, I’m trying to think about the last corner, the last lap, and I’m preparing different strategies to be prepared for the end of the race. 

“First of all, you must work well during the weekend. Friday and Saturday are important to have good pace. If you have good pace, even if you’re in a big group, you’re more comfortable (there), let’s say, if you had worked well on Friday and Saturday. That’s the first point. 

“Then, for example it’s about being calm and trying to breathe when you’re on the straights, trying to keep the heart rate low. It’s difficult in those moments, but if you can keep it as low as possible then you can think better. The working on Friday on Saturday and then working on yourself, like doing meditation.”

Meditation? How and when does a Grand Prix rider go about doing that? And what are its benefits? 

“It’s one thing we have,” he said. “This year during the end of day before going to sleep we do it. It’s working well because the days here in the MotoGP paddock are so intense. I’ve noticed the change between last year and this year. It’s normal when you’re at the front (of sessions) more, then the days are more intense. It’s good to relax before going to sleep.”

Another secret in Alonso’s weaponry: how he studies the sport. 

“I am trying to do things like other people did in the past, and people who did it well. I like to look (and study) different styles and different riders. Or I try to get as much information as I can to be as complete as possible.”

In Barcelona in June, for instance, he used former Aspar Moto3 champ Izan Guevara’s 2022 victory as inspiration. After watching the race replay several times, and studying the Spaniard’s telemetry, Alonso put his own plan into practice, his devastating late run of laps gradually causing his rivals to lose touch one by one. 

“It’s nice to always have an inspiration,” he explained. “The way I’m doing it now, like people did it in the past, they’ve already done these steps. I can learn from them and it can help me.”

‘At Christmas I always asked for something I could ride’

The Alonso origin story is a common one for a current grand prix rider. Born in Madrid, his family had no connections to the sport. Yet he showed an interest early on and first rode a bike when he was five. He was racing at six. By 10, he had won the national Minimoto championship, and the Aspar team came calling the following year, beginning a relationship that continues to this day.

“I started at five years old, was when I first took a bike,” he explained of his first forays on two wheels. “I then started racing at six, which was the minimum age in Spain. Nobody from my family were related to competition or to bikes – the only thing was my father had a streetbike to go off on some rides some weekends. I remember that as a child. When I watched the races on TV, they caught my interest. For Christmas and birthdays, instead of asking for a football or something like that, I asked for something with wheels – something I could ride!”

And an early memory soon had him hooked on the incredible buzz of being in the MotoGP paddock. 

“I remember I was seven or eight years old – Valencia GP. I remember it was funny because we went with another kid who also rode at the school where I was riding. We went into the paddock with the leathers we were wearing in those days. Everyone was looking at us. 

“Valentino Rossi at that moment was at Ducati. He came out of the truck; everyone was looking for his signature and when Valentino saw both of us he told us to come to him. So we got a photo with him and I still have the photo at home.”

One question stands out. If he was born in Madrid, how come he represents Colombia on the entry list? “The link is my mother. She’s from Colombia and my dad is from Spain. I was born in Madrid. We did it to represent my mother’s flag,” he smiled, almost sheepishly.

The baby-faced youngster first grabbed the attention of the racing world when he won the European Talent Cup aged 14. A year later, he triumphed in the Red Bull Rookies Cup thanks to six wins and 10 podiums in 14 races. Such a feat allowed him to qualify for a space on the following season’s Moto3 grid. Yet both he and Aspar decided to wait for another year. His explanation demonstrates the maturity that’s evident throughout the conversation. 

“Honestly, at that time we had it very clear that I won the Rookies Cup but I wasn’t prepared to go to the Moto3 class,” he admitted. “We had the mentality of preparing for it (by spending) one (more) year in JuniorGP. It wasn’t a big problem. One time we had the doubt of (maybe we should step up in 2022) or not. But it was a really tiny doubt. 

“Overall, it was more or less clear. We said in that moment when we go up to the Moto3 World Championship we need to be prepared. It was better to wait and to do it well with things more clear (in our mind). And thanks to the Aspar team because they supported me one more year in JuniorGP with a confirmed place in the Moto3 class in 2023.”

The decision paid off spectacularly. Alonso earned Rookie of the Year in 2023, winning four races, showing a ruthless racecraft that has quickly become his trademark, and was in genuine title contention up until the penultimate race. 

‘It’s normal to be pissed off’ 

That fine form continued into 2024. Alonso had already won two races heading into the Spanish GP. That was the scene of the year’s big mistake to date: crashing out on the first lap at Jerez when everyone expected him to win. Not to worry. At a post-race test two days later, he did three race simulations in one day, to further understand the Pirelli rubber, new for this year. 

From there, he hasn’t looked back. 

“The team has taught me to work,” he said of his approach. “If I want to be a MotoGP rider one day, they’ve taught me to work (like a MotoGP rider). I work alone and prepare for the race. And to prepare also for the next category, which is Moto2. We try to do things well.” 

This is where the Doohan comparison comes in. In Austin, France and Italy he topped every session and won the race (only four riders had done this in Moto3 history, a single time each). And at Jerez and Barcelona, he topped every session bar one. Such relentless form has forced rivals Ortola, Collin Veijer and Dani Holgado into mistakes. And it’s all part of Alonso’s grand plan. 

“Marc (Marquez) and Valentino’s career, for example, are super nice,” he said, pointing to two of his idols. “On the track and off the track also. How they grew up in MotoGP. One important thing for me that they both did is they won in three categories. Since I was a little kid, when they asked me, ‘What do you want to do?’ Before saying, ‘I want to go to MotoGP’, I said, ‘I want to be world champion in all three categories.’ For me it’s like closing the chapter of that class. That’s important for me.”

Little wonder that outlook has attracted him to Marquez, who no doubt sees a bit of his own determination in the teenager. A video from the Austrian GP showed the pair conversing, with the eight-time world champion offering up some advice. After Alonso explained how his second at the British GP left him “pissed off”, Marquez replied: “That’s normal. But you don’t show it. Keep it inside until you go home and let it all out.” 

His relationship with Marquez recently extended to a training day at the Motorland Aragon circuit, when Alonso was invited along to ride with the MotoGP star. 

“I was born in Madrid and live in Guadalajara, which is about 45 minutes from Madrid. The Marquez brothers came to Madrid (in 2022) and in the break in June I had the chance to train with them at Aragon. I went there with some Moto2 riders like Fermin (Aldeguer) and (Albert) Arenas. It was nice.

“The experience left me with no words! I remember when (Marc) passed me. I could follow him for three corners, but in those three corners (I was like), ‘Woah, I’m following an eight-time world champion!’ It was a crazy feeling. I was surprised. I couldn’t even ride well because I was just watching him and his bike, and I couldn’t even concentrate on myself.”

There’s no getting away from the fact Alonso’s latest performances have put him in a fantastic position to wrap up this year’s Moto3 championship with races to spare. Eleven races in and his advantage stands at 71 points. And with tracks coming up where he excelled last year, it’s hard to look past the number 80.

“For sure we cannot lie that we have a good chance,” he conceded. “If we have the opportunity, we will go for it.”

Which brings us to next year? A Moto2 promotion while remaining with Aspar’s squad is all but confirmed. But Alonso insisted staying put wouldn’t be the end of the world. 

“At this moment we’re really focused on our target to give our best and fight for the Moto3 World Championship, which is the main objective. After that we’ll think about the next (step). As I did in the past with JuniorGP, I’m young and it wouldn’t be a problem to repeat Moto3 again. (It’s important) to be patient. Let’s see what the future holds!”

“I need to face life with a big smile!” 

More than secrets to succeed in last-lap brawls, or his contacts in the racing world, the burning question is: how does David Alonso remain so grounded despite all recent success? 

“I am like I am and I try to be as natural as possible,” came his response. “My mother always says that I need to face life with a big smile. So, I go with that mentality.”

As the interview drew to a close, AMCN thanked the youngster for his time, and complimented his English – the chat lasted 16 minutes, which is no mean feat in the formative stages of a new language. It said a lot of the youngster that rather than giving the impression he wished he was elsewhere and leaving for bigger, better things, he had the final word. 

“Thanks so much,” he smiled. “And thanks for giving me this opportunity because it’s very helpful to improve my English. The more hours I do it, the better it is.” 

Who says nice guys finish last?