Masià celebrates his victory in Moto 3 after the Qatar GP.IBRAHEEM AL OMARI (Portal)
Jaume Masiá Vargas (Algemesí, Valencia, 23 years old) had spent his entire life pursuing a dream reserved for only a select few in world sport. The Spanish rider managed to round off the most important season of his career with the title of Moto3 champion with a borderline legal victory at the Qatar GP, which could be a hit or miss. After seven years in the entry-level category of the competition, already a veteran in the small displacement with 110 main prizes behind him, on the evening in Qatar he became the 25th Spanish champion in history, one of those who took the longest to achieve victory can.
“I’m young, but I’m not rich,” commented the Valencian in Malaysia, knowing how important it is to have earned his continuity on the track and the long-awaited jump into Moto2. His family’s pockets were no longer sufficient to continue rowing in a world that demands more and more personal investments from pilots who do not count on the support of major brands for their development and success. “Here is the work of many people and the love and encouragement of my family, my girlfriend and especially my parents, whom I already want to hug. “This title belongs to you rather than me,” commented the new champion after his coronation, crying uncontrollably on the fairing of his Leopard Honda.
In the Luxembourg structure, Masià found a human group that believed in him as much as his family. After a first year together in 2020 that did not bring the expected results, the rider had the opportunity to sign with KTM Ajo, birthplace of great champions such as Pedro Acosta and Marc Márquez. Things didn’t work out there either, and this season he returned to Leopard Racing with the feeling that this would be his last chance.
His title is not without controversy and Masià rode like a man possessed in Lusail, even twice overtaking and blocking his direct rival, the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki. His teammate Adrián Fernández also went too far to help his colleague with two more high-voltage passes. The stewards decided to warn the Valencian and his team for their aggressiveness at the limit of the regulations, although fortunately for them it was all just a slap on the wrist and nothing more. “I felt like I had fought another 20,000 rounds and I knew I could do it,” commented the champion enthusiastically. “Whether they like it or not, a Spaniard won and that’s it,” he added. In his fight for survival, the Valencian had had the feeling for weeks that the race management and the KTM army on the track were after him, which was the main reason for his latest outburst.
With his fourth win on the track, coming back from tenth on the grid, Masià focused on victory from the first moment. The victory was his catapult to the title, which he will celebrate with his team in Cheste, the cradle of champions where he grew up. His family did not want to travel to Qatar so as not to distract themselves from the child they had spoiled since he was very young and he gained entry to the World Cup in 2017 by finishing second in the Spanish Junior Speed Championships. In the same year, at the age of 16, he made his debut in Moto3 with a ninth place and the fastest lap of the Austrian GP and impressed.
Macauli, as he was nicknamed because of his resemblance to Macaulay Culkin, the irreverent child from the blockbuster Home Alone, became El Rubio not long ago when his mother went too far and bleached his hair. As a child, he was so small and light that he had to add an additional 20 kilos of weight to his motorcycle in the FIM CEV. He chose number 5 because from the start only the top five received scholarships, and he finished fifth to give himself the opportunity to train and find a path to the World Championships. Marc Márquez was fascinated at the time to see him there as often as he once was before he became a MotoGP reference and legend. Xavi Pérez, his first manager, later also Julián Miralles and Emilio Alzamora, were his supporters throughout his formative career, and his sporting reference was always the also small Dani Pedrosa. There was a time when even Karlos Arguiñano took an interest in him and helped him finance his career.
Many years later, Masià reached the middle category with 10 wins, 27 podiums, 10 pole positions and this first title on his record. His team’s policy of keeping his family away from the racetracks and the introduction of working with a psychologist have helped him put his irregularities behind him. Although he has finally demonstrated his full potential, his slow confirmation and sporadic performances, allowing him to achieve the best and the worst in a matter of weeks, will force him to live and drive to his limits when he wants to retain its status as a member of The Elite of World Motorcycle Sport now. That’s coming to Moto2.
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