Page 1 of 1

Moto3 Jules Danilo, Ongetta-Rivacold

Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 3:47 pm
by totalmotorcycle
#Moto3 Jules Danilo, Ongetta-Rivacold




Ongetta-Rivacold rider Jules Danilo finished in ninth place at Sachsenring circuit in Saxony. Having finished in sixth place for the previous race in Assen and with this result from the German GP, he is now thirteenth in Moto3 world championship standings at the halfway point of 2016 season. This is the most consistent result in his racing career for three years.


"Yeah, this year I made a big step forward. Last year I didn't start too bad but it was very inconsistent, doing a lot of crashes. Eventually I lost a lot of confidence. This year we didn't have best pre-season testing, but got results in the first race for eleventh place. I felt really good on the bike. I still do some mistakes like in Argentina and Le Mans, but I’ve been within top ten more than twice so it's consistent. Definitely, it is an improvement and I start to feel better on the bike and to be in front."


The reason of his struggle in last year had come from hastiness, Danilo analyzes himself.

"In 2014, I had a very difficult year on a competitor’s bike, and the next year I think I was putting too much pressure on myself because I had a good team, good bike and I wanted to do good. At the beginning of last season, I made many stupid mistakes and crashed a lot. I crashed out the first three races and finished one race, then crashed again. I know it is stupid points that are all thrown out the window. So I think with the experience last year and also with the team, we get along very good second year together. Now I know what to do and what not to do. It started to work quite nicely.”


His results are testimony to his words. The Frenchman finished eleventh at Mugello for his team’s home race. In the next race in Montmeló, unfortunately he was aught up in a crash in front of him. However, in three weeks later, he made his best result of sixth place in the Netherlands. Danilo revealed that the key of his turning point was his confidence in braking.

Jules Danilo Jules Danilo Jules Danilo



"The biggest thing is now I have a lot of confidence with the brakes. I can brake a lot harder and it makes it easier for overtaking. I am also able to ride more consistently and this brings me more benefit in the race. When I was in the group, it is lot easier, you know. I think this thing we have found in front now gives me extra confidence to brake harder into the corners. That is the biggest step."


A cool-headed strategy for the whole race also improved this racing. Past experience had taught him to keep his composure.


“You know last year, I did a lot of mistakes in last laps when I was coming to finish in top twelve more or less, even in top 10 sometimes, so it's a little bit frustrating. Now I learnt to be more calm. I know the race is long, there is no point in rushing in the first laps, because you spoil the rest of the race."


The dream for him is, needless to say, to be the world champion.


“If not, I wouldn't be here. World champion of these three categories, you know the best one is MotoGP and I think it is the dream for every rider.”


Milan-born Frenchman Jules Danilo has a colorful international background, with his parents moving to China and Czech, and he himself speaking English like a native. What would he have been if he was not racing?


"I enjoy a lot of things enough, maybe more in sport orientated stuff. And if I was not a rider, maybe I would be studying finance or something. Because when I was in school, I did International Baccalaureate and really enjoyed studying economics. I would have gone in that directions but luckily I could go racing and it is definitely much better than being in the office the whole day!"