I need to feel I enjoy racing again, say Karel Abraham prior to his tenth season

This will be Karel Abraham’s tenth season in the Road Racing World Championship. In 2005, he was a fifteen-year old rookie. In the early 2014, he is still in recovery after a nasty shoulder injury and says, “I am not going to talk about my goals and achievements. The most important thing right now is to feel that I enjoy racing again. I am sure the rest will come,” says the rider who has just turned 24.

Karel Abraham will sit on his new bike during the first week of February, during winter testing in Sepang, Malaysia. 

“Not having the opportunity to ride it in Valencia in fall is tough luck, but it is not really a handicap in terms of racing. I was of course very curious, as this is a brand new bike. I can’t even ask anyone what it is like,” Abraham says with a grin in his face. 

Following the post-injury rehabilitation in fall, he started practicing again. His training partner is kickboxer Tomáš Hron. 

“I need to get into shape again and if one has a training partner to motivate them, it is much easier. That said, the involuntary rest is a handicap that will affect my performance; not in terms of speed but stamina. Before the injury, I could easily make fifty test laps per day. It will take a while to get back to this number,” Abraham guesses. 

“We are doing our best to prepare me for the official tests in Qatar in March. Not to mention the first race of the season,” he adds.

At the beginning of the MotoGP season, racers and their teams will spend more time across the Atlantic Ocean than usual. After the traditional evening race in Qatar and the Austin, Texas race, the paddock will head for Argentina, where the last world championship race was held in 1999. 

“It is looking adventurous since the circuit is brand new and far inland. Transportation arrangements are quite complicated so I am very curious about that,” Abraham noted. 

The championship will return to Europe at the beginning of May. The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic will take place on 15–17 August. In addition to Karel Abraham, fans can look forward to Jakub Kornfeil and rookie Karel Hanika in Moto3.