Red Bull GasGas Factory rider Jorge Prado finally found some hardships in Trentino last weekend, and what did he do about it, well, he turned it around quickly and left the Italian venue with his fourth GP win of the year and his 42^nd of his career. Prado of course won Trentino in 2023 and went on to become World MXGP champion and if history is anything to go by, he is a heavy favourite to become a four-time World champions in September.

While Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser were closer to the Spaniard, and even beat him in both Saturday qualification and then the opening race on Sunday, Prado knew what he had to do and with his confidence at an all time high, went into that second moto to regain the momentum.  He did that with what was another moto win and victory around a circuit that has cause him many difficulties in the past.

We caught up with the red plate man and asked him about his performance and resilience to grab back the major share of the points over the Sunday GP.

MXLarge: Would you say this is your best GP win yet this year, because you really had to change the momentum around?

Prado: Yes, I think I am at my best right. I have never won the 450 class, four in a row. I am just feeling very good, and I feel I am making the difference and physically I am in really good shape, and I feel I can turn any situation around. Today I was really not feeling good with the track and felt it was very dangerous. I just had to go through it with my fitness and push. I am in good shape and feeling good.

MXlarge: After the first race and after what happened yesterday with your seat falling off and finishing 17^th, did you feel you needed to get the momentum back?

Prado: No, not really. I told my mechanic I was going to win the second one and I went to the gate saying that to myself and I was able to do that. I felt I could win, and it is something you just feel, and I felt it going into that race. I had a perfect start and coming into the first corner, I went on the inside and that was exactly what I thought before the start. Then I thought, okay, I just have 30 minutes to make it happen and stay focused. They were putting pressure, and I could hold and hold, and I made it happen.

MXlarge: The last seven years whoever wins Trentino goes on to win the World MXGP championship and even Tim, Jeffrey and you won here in the MX2 championship and went on the become World champion, so it’s a lucky place for most of the riders who win here. I know it might be like a lot of tracks, but this place is special for that.

Prado: Still, so many rounds left, but it is good to win on tracks where you don’t always feel your best, so, yes, I am very happy this GP is done, the track was so sketchy and the bike changes for moto two made me feel so much more comfortable. Just some small suspension changes. I don’t really know what they were, I just mentioned what I was feeling, and they fixed it.

MXLarge: You have looked nearly every moto really smooth and really in control, but that first moto on Sunday, you seemed to be pushing really hard and even making some mistakes?

Prado: Like I said, I didn’t feel good on this track, the bike was losing grip everywhere and it was kicking around. I was just not one with the bike and I know this track doesn’t allow you to be super smooth, not like in Spain, where you could play with the ruts. Here you have to be tight and so slippery, and I finished P3 and that was enough to win the GP.

MXLarge: Starting from the 17^th gate and two holeshots, it seems you can do that whenever you want. What can you say about this amazing GP win?

Prado: It was a strange GP weekend. Saturday I was feeling very good on the track, time practice a solid lap and I was feeling really fast. The qualification race I felt really good, and I was just behind Romain and after two laps I started feeling that something was very strange. I felt something was loose and then half a lap later, I lost the whole back part of my seat. So, I went in and got a new seat and had to start again and it was a very bad gate pick for today, but I could still get two very good starts. First moto I didn’t really have the good feeling, actually today I didn’t have a good feeling with the track, it was very slick, and I was spinning a lot with my rear and not feeling let’s say loose. In fact, I was riding rather tight.

MXLarge: How about the two races?

Prado: Yes, first moto the best I could do was third, I was close to them, but we just got the lappers, and I couldn’t get close to them, and Tim and Romain took a gap, and I couldn’t get them. I knew in the second moto, if I got the holeshot, I could push a little bit more. I was able to push a little more with some minor bike changes to the bike. That helped me feel more comfortable and I knew I was able to go through the moto and I believed in myself. Romain was pushing and at one place, we were very close. That was the only time we kind of went for it and the rest was just trying to finish the race. Four races, four wins, I am very happy with that now.

MXlarge: The performance in that second race, will that help you in the future, knowing you can overcome these types of things?

Prado: I would prefer we didn’t have these things happen, these problems. Saturday, we lost points in the championship, and they were points as a rider, I just couldn’t do anything about it. It was not my fault a shame, but on Sunday, we put more points and that is important. I was happy to finish the GP, because I was not enjoying riding this track today. So we go to the next races, track that I like, and we have a few weeks to improve and get better.

MXlarge: Looks like you were dominating the first three rounds and after that first moto today, the gap to you and Tim was just six points. Does that surprise you that you won so much and so dominant and after just two races (Saturday and Sunday), the gap was much closer.

Prado: Yes, after the technical issue on Saturday, the points were back to eight and even though I won the first three rounds and twice just won everything, but that is how it is. This class is very tough, we are the best in the World. Tim is super consistent, and he has been second all the time, so I can’t do any better than first, I can’t do better than that. So, he has always been there and that makes it fun right, because you can’t make any mistakes, you can’t risk anything. I think I am good at managing that and I manage my motos good and I am not making mistakes at the moment, but the gap is not much and again in the next round we need to try and win again, and you have to be very consistent and very consistent in the top three.

MXLarge: You have said you are good when you start in front, you can pick your lines and everything, that first moto was something different?

Prado: The first moto I just didn’t feel good, I didn’t feel good with the bike, I didn’t feel good with the track, and I finished third. When I win all the other races and I finish third, maybe it doesn’t look so good, but third is still on the podium right. At the end of that moto, I was still getting to the guys at the front, and I only lost the moto because of the lappers, and somehow my speed was coming back at the end, but they (Gajser and Febvre) are very good competitors, they are the two best. I try to always be perfect.

MXLarge: Four GP wins in a row and you have done that in MX2, but never in MXGP, in fact I don’t think you had ever won two in a row in this class before this year?

Prado: No, never won two in a row. Mentally I am really doing well, but I still keep my feet on the ground and I work every day and I still have that margin to improve and I wake up every day with that in mind and working hard and being first motivated me even more, because it makes me happy for the work I am doing and tonight I will sleep really well knowing I am giving it 100% and doing it on the track.

JP/GasGas images