Welcome back Johnny! You delivered a strong result to finish second in Enduro 2 - you must be pleased with your day?
Johnny Aubert: Yes it’s good to be back! I’m really pleased with my performance today as I felt I was riding very strong – today has been a satisfactory result.
How did day one at the GP of Euskadi go for you?
I felt very good and really enjoyed the race. Pela (Renet) was a little bit faster but I was not too far behind him. I won a couple of tests to close the gap between us and in end he only beat me by 20 seconds.
You posted some of your best times on the cross test but were also fast on the enduro test. That must have given you a lot of confidence?
The cross test favoured me best. I was able to find some nice lines and push very hard to set some good times. I really enjoyed that one, however I was also happy with my times on the enduro test. During the first run of the morning my speed was good but I was perhaps a little too cautious. On the next lap, I decided to push harder and take a little extra risk. It paid off with the fastest time. Usually I tend to struggle slightly on the enduro test so I was pleased with my pace on it.
Looking back at the opening rounds of the season in South America it’s easy to see that they didn’t go as you expected them to. Do you know what the cause was?
The first two rounds of the championship proved extremely difficult for me though I’m not sure why. Even though I managed a podium on day one in Argentina I had so many problems in South America that nothing really went to plan. During the off-season everything had gone well. My training was good and I won the first round of the Spanish championship and also the British Sprint Enduro Championship, so I came into the first two rounds of the EWC hoping to do much better.
Were you able to find the reason for your non-finish on day two in Argentina?
The problem in Argentina proved to be so simple yet extremely costly. I had a small crash in the dust and the breather pipe in the fuel cap became partially blocked, which caused the bike to stop running. At first we didn’t know what the problem was and looked at all the major possible causes but were unable to find the root of the problem, then by chance we replaced the fuel cap and it instantly solved the problem. Unfortunately it might have ruined my chances of fighting for the title but there is nothing I can do about that now.
With your result here on day one in Spain you’re now back up to fifth in the championship standings. What are your plans for the rest of the season?
The best I can do is look at South America as a learning experience. Those rounds are in the past and there is nothing I can do to fix them. I must focus on the future and what I can achieve now. This will be a long year and as I said I must concentrate on the rest of the season and give it 100 per cent from here on out.
