David Alonso “lost a lot of energy” under hype of record-smashing Moto3 year
New Moto3 world champion Alonso opens up on pressure of 2024
David Alonso says the pressure of expectation that followed him throughout his record-smashing 2024 Moto3 season meant he “lost a lot of energy”.
The Colombian came into 2024 as a favourite to fight for the title after winning four grands prix in his rookie campaign the year before.
That expectation only heightened after pre-season testing, with Alonso ultimately guiding his Aspar-run CFMoto machine to the title with 14 grands prix victories.
Alonso also set a new record for most wins in a lightweight class season, taking that accolade away from MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who’d previously held it from 1997.
Such was Alonso’s form that he garnered widespread support from top MotoGP names, most notably Marc Marquez, who urged the paddock not to put pressure on his shoulders as he continues his way up the grand prix ladder.
But all of this attention came at a cost for Alonso, who moves into Moto2 next season with the Aspar squad.
“This year it was so long for me,” he said when asked by Crash.net about the pressure he faced in 2024.
“And then I lost a lot of energy because from the very beginning we did good marks on the pre-season test, and a lot of people were saying I could fight for the championship.
“And this put on me a lot of pressure. I tried to deal with this pressure.
“But I think that next year is different because next year I don’t have to do one result.
“All that comes will be fine. So, it will be more like 2023 more than this year. So, I think I will have less pressure.”
Aspar fields an all-rookie line-up in Moto2 next year of Alonso and Dani Holgado, who finished a distant runner-up in the 2024 standings to the Colombian.
On his Moto2 move, Alonso added: “I believe that next year it will be more relaxed, more relaxed weekends and we won’t be talking about records for a long time.”
