Lopez: from the sofa to Moto2™ race winner

Alonso Lopez’s (+Ego Speed Up) Moto2™ victory at the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini was a huge moment in the young Spaniard’s career. So much so, we thought we’d take a little look at his journey to becoming a Grand Prix race winner, months after not even being on the grid.

Where it all began

Perseverance, hard work and desire perfectly describe the young rider from Madrid, also nicknamed the 'Magician', who despite becoming Spanish Challenge 80 Cup Champion in 2014, becoming FIM CEV PreMoto3 champion in 2015, reaching the Moto3™ World Championship in 2018 and taking on a new challenge in 2020 by landing at the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team, ended up enduring a difficult time at a professional level. 

After qualifying 3rd in Moto2™ Q2 in San Marino, Alonso gave an interesting interview to DAZN, where he recounted everything that has happened over the last few months and admitted to be living a dream. 

“It's difficult to keep training when you have nothing on the table. That's why I'm proud, we're getting consistent results and that's good, but I'm mostly proud of the fact that I kept going and my mental strength. I knew that there was a chance that everything I was doing would be for nothing.”

A story of overcoming and perseverance

By way of contextualisation, after competing in the 2020 season, Lopez was confirmed to be continuing in the lightweight class for 2021 with Max Biaggi's team. However, Lopez was dropped from the team just before the start of the season.

Faced with this situation, Lopez went on to compete in the FIM JuniorGP™ Moto2™ European Championship with Team Ciatti, a Boscoscuro subsidiary, where he was runner-up behind Fermin Aldeguer (+Ego Speed Up), with whom he now shares a box again.

“We have a very good relationship with Fermin and we have no problem helping each other and exchanging information. In fact, I have to thank Fermin because thanks to him I am the rider I am today, because if not, maybe last year in the CEV would have been more enjoyable and as he had much more experience I could learn a lot more from him. Thanks to him I am here today.”

The magic call

Looking ahead to 2022 it seemed history would repeat itself for the 20-year-old, but one phone call changed everything. In his first eight races in the intermediate class on the world stage, the Spaniard has already achieved a victory and two podiums, making clear the immense talent he possesses and the projection he could have.

“I didn't expect it myself. Neither Luca nor my family or anyone else. Even I'm freaking out because it was a very difficult time because I didn't know what I was going to do this year. Luca called me when Fenati still had two races to go and told me that he was not happy with his results and that the contract stipulated that if the expectations were not met he could change rider.

“Right at that moment I was negotiating with another team that I couldn't say yes to because Luca wanted me to be Romano Fenati's replacement and in the end I had to make a decision. I had to make the decision before the Spanish GP, and if I said yes to Luca, I gave up on the other team, but I risked Fenati doing well and continuing to race at Le Mans, but in the end he gave me the opportunity and I think I'm taking advantage of it. I'm enjoying it like never before and I'm giving 100%,” said Lopez while talking to DAZN.

From the sofa to the top step

Without imagining what was to come during Sunday's San Marino GP, DAZN journalist Ernest Riveras and Lopez concluded the interview by making a promise to each other that they must now fulfil.

“This sofa on the helmet is in your honour and because Luca always laughs at me saying that I started on the sofa, so I thought 'for this year's design I'll put one',” said Lopez. Riveras simply replied: “If you win a race between now and the end of the year, we will do another interview, but this time on a sofa.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. Lopez went on to win the San Marino GP in impressive fashion: “In the end, I lacked a bit of experience because I made two mistakes and lost half a second on each lap, but I felt I had goosebumps inside my suit and I was freaking out. I said 'I'm not believing it', and the whole race I was leading... It's unbelievable. If you had told me five months ago that this was going to happen, I would have said it was impossible.”