2014 - exclusive Gabino Renales Interview
Page 9
Gabino on his Honda TLR 250
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What sports do you do?
I run. I try to go running and I mountain bike. I ride trial but very rare for me to do this now. What bike do you ride? I do have a Montesa 4 stroke. I do some classic trial with a Honda TLR 250. Do you ride on the road as well? No, but I have a bike just to get around Barcelona, a scooter, a Honda, very nice. Do you have children? Are you married? Yes, I was married but am divorced actually, like everybody. I have 2 daughters, 16 and 17 |
Do you have any other interests or passions or you don’t have time?
Not really time. I like a lot of sports. I run and go on the mountain bike. I really love to ride this bike. I really love to spend some time with my daughters and my family.
So, your life is full. You travel all around the world?
Yes, yes ha ha
Is there anything else I haven’t asked you?
No, I think this is a great interview. You have covered everything.
I didn’t know for sure I was coming to see you so I worked out these questions at 1 o’clock this morning?
I would say that trials in general has been a fantastic school and university and master in my life. I owe many things because of trials and the people I meet in trials. I have great memories of even though sometimes we occasionally have differences but overall the people that I have been involved with in trials, I think are very good people and trials has been a great discipline. I am very thank full for that.
Not really time. I like a lot of sports. I run and go on the mountain bike. I really love to ride this bike. I really love to spend some time with my daughters and my family.
So, your life is full. You travel all around the world?
Yes, yes ha ha
Is there anything else I haven’t asked you?
No, I think this is a great interview. You have covered everything.
I didn’t know for sure I was coming to see you so I worked out these questions at 1 o’clock this morning?
I would say that trials in general has been a fantastic school and university and master in my life. I owe many things because of trials and the people I meet in trials. I have great memories of even though sometimes we occasionally have differences but overall the people that I have been involved with in trials, I think are very good people and trials has been a great discipline. I am very thank full for that.
Gabino signs an autograph for a young fan.
You always came across to the spectator as being a quieter man, a little quieter and you kept yourself to yourself a little bit more. This may just be because you were in England and you were in a foreign country about to ride a big event and perhaps didn’t speak English to well, back then. I’m not going anywhere with this….
No no no go on …
When I look back at you then you seemed to be quite a quiet man?
Yes, I was very shy, very very shy. That’s why this whole thing has helped really a lot. I’m a very shy person. Some people I was with were a lot more open but I am quite quiet and shy and probably this was one of the problems I had, being in front of the people.
Did you get nervous going out riding in front of people?
Yes yes yes…so I had to learn how to manage and control this sort of situations.
No no no go on …
When I look back at you then you seemed to be quite a quiet man?
Yes, I was very shy, very very shy. That’s why this whole thing has helped really a lot. I’m a very shy person. Some people I was with were a lot more open but I am quite quiet and shy and probably this was one of the problems I had, being in front of the people.
Did you get nervous going out riding in front of people?
Yes yes yes…so I had to learn how to manage and control this sort of situations.
The original GasGas Halley brochure signed by the main man himself :)
Did you have help with this?
Yes, I had a physiologist assistant in the same year that I started with Gasgas. I started to work with these people. This was just to help me with the nerves. I had no physical pain before the trial but I didn’t have enough concentration. This was something that I learned and it helped me a lot. Before I had the feeling that the people were watching me gave me a lot of pressure so I didn’t manage to concentrate myself and to somehow create my own bubble you know that you sometimes need to concentrate fully. This is why I went there. I recognised the problem and I think that it was too much shyness.
What did you remember of the Bilstain step?
Yes, I liked this place, I do like this step. Now if you go there you will see that it is easy, but back then with these kinds of bikes it was not easy. I remember the first time that I rode the step I was with Merlin, the step was something that was quite impressive, is it still there?
Yes, it is still there and it is still very hard for most people. It is now covered in leaves with trees growing from it, but I go there for a good look around.
Yes, I had a physiologist assistant in the same year that I started with Gasgas. I started to work with these people. This was just to help me with the nerves. I had no physical pain before the trial but I didn’t have enough concentration. This was something that I learned and it helped me a lot. Before I had the feeling that the people were watching me gave me a lot of pressure so I didn’t manage to concentrate myself and to somehow create my own bubble you know that you sometimes need to concentrate fully. This is why I went there. I recognised the problem and I think that it was too much shyness.
What did you remember of the Bilstain step?
Yes, I liked this place, I do like this step. Now if you go there you will see that it is easy, but back then with these kinds of bikes it was not easy. I remember the first time that I rode the step I was with Merlin, the step was something that was quite impressive, is it still there?
Yes, it is still there and it is still very hard for most people. It is now covered in leaves with trees growing from it, but I go there for a good look around.
Gabino still has his 1988 GasGas Halley as well as his 1989 Montesa 309.
He is clearly proud of his Trialing past and rightly so.
He is clearly proud of his Trialing past and rightly so.
Last question….what do you think of the no stop?
Actually, I was in favour somehow of the no stop, especially for the non-professional riders and races. I think that no stop would have engaged much more people to the non-professional races. I think that something that proves that is the success of classic bikes here in Spain and probably outside of Spain as well, but actually I am not following that. It is because it is easy for people and it’s much more fun because it is more creative. No stop trials are more creative. You have to have more feelings for the position of the wheels and the position of the body and it is something that somehow where the balance is more active. So from that point of view I think that this is good. For the professional I understand that you cannot stop the progress and what they do nowadays is something that is amazing. So it’s a difficult thing, but also the main problem is also the observers. With the no stop the observer’s job gets far more difficult because they have to check if the bike stops or not. We even had some thoughts about creating a device that have a signal when the bike stops for a certain period it will go beep and make a noise so it is easy for the observers. I think that they should create something like this with all this electronic technology this will be every easy to do. For me, I came originally from this type of trials. I think that it’s nicer and it makes the difference between the top riders and the not so top riders a bit more easy. I think it will invite some new riders to get into trials. I always use the same example. It’s like the ski, you know. If you go to one ski resort and on the first day you ask people to do the black run and to do the jumps etc they will think, why am I here. The beginners in ski start on the easy areas where they fall down, but nothing happens to you. It’s something that is more easy to get in. Then when you improve, then you go in, but if you would not have this move process you would probably never go into the sport. So this is the perception I got and I know things are normally more complicated but now that I’m not doing trials if you said to me you have to go to a normal trials with your 4 stroke bike I would say no. If you say, you go to a classic trial, I say yes. If you tell me if you go to a classic for the type of trials for your new 4 stroke motorcycle I would say fantastic. That’s the great combination of the easy sections, this is my thought process.
Actually, I was in favour somehow of the no stop, especially for the non-professional riders and races. I think that no stop would have engaged much more people to the non-professional races. I think that something that proves that is the success of classic bikes here in Spain and probably outside of Spain as well, but actually I am not following that. It is because it is easy for people and it’s much more fun because it is more creative. No stop trials are more creative. You have to have more feelings for the position of the wheels and the position of the body and it is something that somehow where the balance is more active. So from that point of view I think that this is good. For the professional I understand that you cannot stop the progress and what they do nowadays is something that is amazing. So it’s a difficult thing, but also the main problem is also the observers. With the no stop the observer’s job gets far more difficult because they have to check if the bike stops or not. We even had some thoughts about creating a device that have a signal when the bike stops for a certain period it will go beep and make a noise so it is easy for the observers. I think that they should create something like this with all this electronic technology this will be every easy to do. For me, I came originally from this type of trials. I think that it’s nicer and it makes the difference between the top riders and the not so top riders a bit more easy. I think it will invite some new riders to get into trials. I always use the same example. It’s like the ski, you know. If you go to one ski resort and on the first day you ask people to do the black run and to do the jumps etc they will think, why am I here. The beginners in ski start on the easy areas where they fall down, but nothing happens to you. It’s something that is more easy to get in. Then when you improve, then you go in, but if you would not have this move process you would probably never go into the sport. So this is the perception I got and I know things are normally more complicated but now that I’m not doing trials if you said to me you have to go to a normal trials with your 4 stroke bike I would say no. If you say, you go to a classic trial, I say yes. If you tell me if you go to a classic for the type of trials for your new 4 stroke motorcycle I would say fantastic. That’s the great combination of the easy sections, this is my thought process.
Thank you Gabino