Aron Canet: The bow tie? People were labelling me a gangster

After winning six grands prix in the Moto3 class, Aron Canet had to endure a wait of over four years - 1,645 days to be precise - to finally taste victory in Moto2.

Incredibly, the Spaniard had crossed the Moto2 finish line in second place no less than 15 times before everything came together at Portimao.

“It is another important step in my career,” Canet said. “It was also very emotional after quite some podiums in Moto2, also because a lot of time had passed since my last win in Moto3.

“Sometimes there are moments when you ask yourself if you are really capable of winning, but you have to believe in yourself, you have to follow your dream…

“You have to be focused on the way of working more than on the results. The results will follow, you just have to fully believe in yourself, rather than listening to criticism.”

Regarding criticism, there was one thing missing from Canet’s celebrations in Portimao: The bow tie he had worn after many of his previous Moto2 podiums.

The 24-year-old had pledged to reveal the meaning behind it when he finally won a Moto2 race. Ultimately, Canet had already cast the tie aside, but he did confirm it had been a dig at those who disapprove of his appearance.

“That bow tie goes back to the time I was 20 years old and people looked at me in a bad way, labelling me as a gangster just because of my tattoos and piercings,” explained the Fantic rider.

“Nowadays it’s considered quite normal and especially young people like it, that is why I put on the bow tie to show that also with tattoos, piercings or even yellow hair, you are not worse than others and you can still be a good person.

“In some way I would like to stand for all those who are discriminated because of their physical appearance.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s COTA round, Canet made clear he is now looking for more than race wins and has the title on his mind.

“We are leading the championship and we are going to Austin, a track I have already won on in 2019. My dream is to win again as soon as possible but first of all, we have to keep the focus high.

“We can’t afford to slow down because, yes, we are leading, but the others don’t sleep.

“Our goal is not only to win races but to fight for the title, it would be a first for Fantic Racing, and if we keep working this way, I believe we will have a chance to be in the fight until the end of the season.”