David Philippaerts won two MX1 Grands Prix out of 15 rounds in 2008 to take the World Championship in only his second season of racing in the class and the first with the factory Yamaha team. The 25-year-old Italian from Borgosesia, north-west of Milan, did, however, register 13 top-three finishes out of 30 motos and only dropped out of the top five on eight occasions.
His elegant and perpendicular riding style is compliment by a determined streak and a desire to be fastest perhaps more profound than any other Grand Prix rider. Depths of this Latin fervor were seen in superlative outings at the British and Czech Grands Prix in 2008 when he rampaged through the pack after opening lap spills to reach the leaders, and also in the way he held his title credentials in both hands, high above his head, with a thorough drubbing of his Belgian rivals in the sand of Lierop for the penultimate round of the series; a true champion’s performance one week before he confirmed the first title for Italy in the premier class this century at Faenza.
Philippaerts can best be described as “gentle.” Not quite an adjective suited to a motorcycle racer and a contradiction to his resilience and skill on the track, but he likes a docile life with girlfriend Alice, his two dogs, older friends who live nearby and small distractions from an intense dedication to his job-like radio-controlled cars and bouncing around with a Nintendo Wii. He speaks slowly and with a heavy accent from his Tuscan roots, his English is not perfect but has improved immensely in the last three years and is the same if not better than many of his foreign peers in the paddock.
How do you feel about the season ahead? Does the status of number one give you extra confidence?
Actually I feel nervous. I know that the others will be looking at me more and will be pushing extra hard to be faster; I don’t think I have really been in this kind of position before. Maybe they think that it is easy to win the title now that I have done it, but I know how difficult it is to be up there all season long.
Again you are not contesting the Italian Championship this year, why is that?
I do not think that it helps me to prepare for Grand Prix. The tracks are not similar and it can be a distraction. Yes, perhaps I do not get to race so much for the Italian fans during the year, but I think they would prefer me to be world champion than Italian champion.
Faenza for round one will be an emotional Grand Prix…
Yes, I really cannot believe how quickly the winter has gone. It felt like we were working so hard up until that point and winning the title in 2008, and now suddenly we will be back at Faenza for a new adventure. I think quite a few fans will be there this time! It won’t be easy and I will definitely be keeping in my mind that there are 14 more races after that one.
How do you feel physically going into 2009?
Pretty good, I would say the same as last year but I have the feeling it will be easier for me to go harder for the full 40 minutes. I kept more or less the same training programme. I spent almost a month in the mountains in northern Italy through December. It reached temperatures of -12 up there and I was doing gym work in the morning with my brother and then we would do cross-country skiing in the afternoons. I really like the high altitude stuff. In January I then went for three weeks to the Island of Sardenya and did nothing but ride the bike every day.
It won’t be a problem doing another half moto on Saturdays then for the new Grand Prix qualification system?
No and to be honest I would prefer to have a race. OK, things can wrong at the first corner or the bike might have a problem and these are issues you don’t have to worry about during a timed session, but it is also more interesting for both riders and spectators. For us it gives a small preview for what might happen on Sunday. I think I can speak for most when we say that we would prefer to race to qualify.
Has life changed much as World Champion?
Not a great deal. I get a few more people shouting at me in the street and the recognition is always nice and makes me happy. I was able to buy myself a Mercedes Viano with some trick parts and also get my house finished.
It will be a busy year for you…
Yes, it will be hard! I suppose more people will want my time and opinions but this is part of being a World Champion and even sometimes if you say you don’t want the extra hassle or work, deep-down you don’t mind it.
Why no number one on the bike?
Because No.19 is better! I think the fans remember the rider not by the face but by their number. I can honestly say that I won’t miss not having a number one on the bike; after all, I won the title last year, not this one.
Last year some people accused you of being too aggressive and even careless. Will you change this approach for 2009?
No, I will be even more aggressive. People spoke a lot of shit about me in 2008; maybe I was an easy target because I was leading. I watched the races again on TV and I think there were other riders who seemed more aggressive than I was. This season I want to push more.
How do you get on with your rivals?
If the person is a good guy then normally he is a friend. People like Ramon and Pourcel I get along fine with. Someone who likes to talk a lot, like De Reuver, is “zero” to me.
Do you like to play mind games with them?
No, outside of the track I like to be liked. However in the race if they think I can be crazy or harder, then this necessarily is not a bad thing!
Steve Ramon, Josh Coppins and Ken De Dycker stuck the closest to you in 2008. Do you think the same faces will be there in 2009?
Yes, but there will be more. Kevin Strijbos will be in contention and Barragan also will be pushing for wins. It will be hard but exciting. I have been impressed also by Desalle.
Last year your goal was a top five finish in every moto to be vying for the championship. Will this still be the strategy for 2009?
Yes, but I think it will be necessary to win more races. For me personally I would like to win the title again with more victories; I only had two in 2008.
Tell me about your concentration in a race…
I am always focussed. It is too easy to crash anyway, so you cannot let your mind drift away. My mind always follows the dirt, the track, the bumps. I am remembering my lines and making assessments all the time. The sand is worse because every lap the corners can change. When you are fighting with a rider it is even more intense because you have to make a judgement and sometimes very quickly. You always feel faster when you are coming through the pack, it is easier to measure your progress. Sometimes over the jumps you can have a look around and again it is another way to see how far you are ahead or behind someone. Stefan Everts used to say that he did the races again in his head when he went to bed and the same happens to me. Sometimes I select a different race, though. The Belgian Grand Prix at Lommel last year was not a good meeting for me. That night I laid in bed and thought about Loket, which was the week afterwards and thought of the GP I did there in 2007; the lines and how the dirt felt. I then won that Grand Prix. Maybe all riders are the same but I do feel like that I mentally store my races.
Let’s talk for a minute about your friend Antonio Cairoli. He is coming into MX1 for the first time since winning his debut wild-card outing in 2007. How do you rate his chances?
I don’t think you have to be smart to believe that he will be strong. At Montevarchi for the first round of the Italian championship recently his race time was very good. Tony made the right preparation by winning the 2008 MX1 Italian Championship and getting used to the bike. I’m not sure if he can go for the title. It is very hard to say, I think everything is possible. Ten different riders won in 2008.
But only three were going for the championship…
Yes, but not many people would have bet on me winning the title at the start of the year would they? It is the first year for Tony in MX1, but that should not be a reason for people to count him out. Personally I think you need a year to learn the rhythm of the MX1 class but Tony has already been doing a lot of riding and racing with the 450.
Will racing against each other affect your friendship?
No, a race is a race. Outside is a different story. Besides we raced together in MX2 for a few years and it wasn’t a problem.
What about the economic situation, and how do you think it will affect the sport?
For sure it will alter the World Championship as we know it. The series has been growing so much that I hope we do not see too many changes. I think the riders all know at the back of their minds that good contracts will be harder to come by. I believe almost every factory rider is out of contract this season so there will be a lot of things up in the air. It is now expensive to race and travel. I fear a little bit for the state of things in 2010. There is already a lot for the teams to pay.
