Gabriel Rodrigo (Barcelona, 1996) surprised on September 14 announcing that he was getting off the bike, at the age of 25, after nine seasons in the Speed World Championship, because he does not want to put his life at more risk after seeing death up close . The Barcelonan of Argentine nationality explains the reasons to La Vanguardia and is very critical of the "little protection that Dorna gives to the pilots". Gabri demands a strong leadership and a union that defends them from situations of legal vulnerability or violation of rights. Some reflections that come a few days after the assault on Tom Booth-Amos and after the death of the young Victor Steeman, from Supersport300.
Since when do you not get on the motorcycle?
Since the Italian Grand Prix, at Mugello, in May.
Does he miss her?
The truth is, no. I would like to shoot again. But only with the motocross bike, which is how I will enjoy it the most.
What do you do now?
In November I will start a restaurant management and marketing course because I will open one with one of my best friends; a hamburger restaurant in the Gràcia neighbourhood, in Barcelona. And I will also do a cooking course. Although I will not cook, I want to have notions. And I keep training; I love it and it's a must.
Was it also leaving the motorcycle? When does he realize that he doesn't want to put himself at risk again?
It was the day after I signed my contract with my Moto2 team, in August. I went to train at the Circuit de Barcelona, in Montmeló, with my private motorcycle, a 1,000 cc Yamaha R1, and I ran out of brakes at the end of the straight. I had to jump at 300 km/h. I hit the wall, lucky that air-fence protections were installed at that time. If they weren't here, he would have killed me. I thought, "This is as far as I've come."
He thought he was killed...
Yes. I thought my life was over. That shocks you a lot.
Was it hurt?
I was lucky that the bike went to one side and I hit the guards at 250 km/h, but from the side. I only contracted my back. But unlike other accidents, in this one I thought everything was over. A feeling that marked me a lot. Like the pandemic...
Did the break due to covid make you reflect?
The pandemic for me was a turning point. I had always lived, like most riders, in a bubble, thinking that the only life there is is that of motorcycles. If you do well you are the most, and if not, you are a failure. I was fully motivated in 2020, but during confinement you do other things, you like them, you enjoy life without being a driver, and I realized that the day I did not compete would not be so dramatic. I opened the door to another life after motorcycles.
Did the death of your rival Jason Dupasquier, in May 2021, influence you? [In that race, Rodrigo got on the podium]
Yes, totally. Not just Jason's. For three years there have been many deaths. Victor Steeman died on Tuesday after his accident in Portimão in Supersport300, another rider died a couple of weeks ago in Misano, and in British Superbike a rider was left in a coma... Better known or less, many misfortunes are happening. “It won't happen to me” is the thought that I used to protect myself. Or "it is more dangerous to ride a motorcycle on the street", or "it is very difficult for it to touch you"... Riding in competition is buying more tickets than you already buy every day. So many deaths, and close ones like that of Dean Berta Viñales [Maverick Viñales's cousin], added to the accident I had in Montmeló, made me think that it could be my last day on a motorcycle.
What made you decide in September that you had enough?
I was aware that I was putting myself more at risk than before, I talked about it with my psychologist and I came to the conclusion that I was not willing to continue competing for many years, because I have a life that motivates me beyond motorcycles. I gave myself no more than two or three years to try the Moto2 adventure. But in Mugello (May 29) I fall again, I break my shoulder and I have to stop. With inactivity, just like during the pandemic, I listen to myself more: I spent a month without motorcycles and I looked happy. I didn't see myself wanting to make more physical sacrifices, or risk my body or my life. I decided at the end of June.
With better results [he has achieved two podiums, in 2021 and 2018], would the approach have been different?
No. Obviously I would have liked to be able to fight for a title until the end, to be champion, but I don't leave frustrated. Having been one of the fastest in recent years makes me feel fulfilled.
How have they fit it around you?
One of the things that bothered me the most was what they would say. Friends and family were very happy. They told me: 'Finally you quit, now you look much happier'... And the team, Edu Perales, understood it; he felt very bad, but he respected my decision.
And what has Dorna told him?
Nobody has told me anything. Only the head of Communication, but no one asked me why he left. And I am the only Argentine pilot...
And he had nine seasons with them in the World Cup.
I want to close my stage well, like a gentleman, but it would be unfair to those who follow me if I didn't say that Dorna takes little care of the riders. He does take care of Márquez and the good guys from MotoGP, but the rest of us are a bit... the rest. Just as I have felt very loved by people who did not expect me, many pilots wrote to me, I received signs of understanding, from Pol Espargaró with a very nice message, or from Jorge Martín, from Aleix, from retired pilots like Efrén Vázquez... I feel loved by many, but not by Dorna.
Cast?
It cannot be that the pilots are so little protected in the contracts, it cannot be that a pilot receives €100,000 a year and another pays €300,000 to race. Alonso López's contract was terminated to bring in Adrián Fernández, and nothing happens. But if I break the contract I have to pay €500,000. Can not be. We are not protected. Dorna would have to regulate it. Pilots need to be protected more.
Is there a need for a pilots' association to represent them?
Yes Yes. The problem is selfishness. Who should be the spokesperson or the promoter of this association of pilots is the star of the moment, like Valentino (Rossi) before or now Marc Márquez. The problem is that they don't have any problem because they charge very well and they won't break any contract...
The episode of aggressions like that of the English pilot Tom Booth-Amos could have been denounced. He said it was "one of the many things that happen behind the camera." It's true?
I have never seen such a thing nor have I experienced it. I hope it's a case in point. But the message she leaves behind is clear: she was afraid of losing her motorcycle the following year, and that's why she kept quiet. In the end, we riders are defenseless: we're young, we want to make a dream come true, they scare you... The pressure doesn't go well for most of them. You are risking your life.
What would you propose to further protect pilots?
That Dorna enforce the contracts, by both parties, and that it give more aid to the Moto2 and Moto3 teams than to the MotoGP ones, which have more possibilities of obtaining sponsorships. Thus in the small categories they would not have to take paid pilots. The problem is that they don't have enough of a budget and they're looking for riders who contribute money, from 200,000 to 400,000 euros per season... It's an auction, there's nothing stipulated. If the mechanics get paid, how can it be that the pilot doesn't get paid? It's illogical.
In recent years there have been too many fatal accidents and safety, speed or even the number of drivers per race have been questioned. Do you think there should be a limit on the starting age?
I see that the current limitations are not the solution either: you cannot race in the World Championship until you are 18 years old, but you can in the FIM-CEV championship with a similar bike. The risk is the same. The real danger is when you get run over.
What do you think is the main error that should be corrected?
The races are very numerous and so much equality means that there are too many races in groups of 10-15 drivers. If you fall, it's like in a first lap. The biggest risk is, as happens in Moto3, the large number of riders. That's why I wanted to leave Moto3, if you fell you had 20 guys behind you. To this is added youth, lack of experience, less awareness of risk... All together it represents a very high risk.
Is there a leader missing in the World Cup?
Yes, a revolutionary leader, a Hamilton: if he has an idea, he defends it. Rossi had the power to lead, and he didn't. He moved more for his interests. Someone with the weight of Rossi or Márquez is needed, who stands up and brings together all the riders. That all together say "Either we do that, or we don't run". If that happened, the World Cup would be much fairer.
Riders from before like Stoner, Lorenzo, Simoncelli or Pedrosa…were they more critical?
The problem is that the World Cup can do without a pilot. Many think the same as those who complain, but they keep quiet and do not support him. "Off with his head," they think to themselves. There is a lot of fear. A leader is missing and he should not go alone.
