Salac: "I dream of debuting in MotoGP and having Brno back on the calendar”

Second on the podium in Thailand last year when he was still a rookie, and the same result at Le Mans earlier this season. Filip Salac and the Gresini team are frontrunners in the Moto2 class, currently lying sixth in the championship, eight rounds into the 2023 season. The Czech rider underlines the progress made so far: "I’m always growing”, he confirms, “and the team too, so we make a strong and competitive pairing. Few people expected this level of competitiveness from us perhaps, but I always believed. Over the winter, I trained hard, spending many hours in the saddle, thinking about how to adapt my style to the category".

Salac: "My dad brought a bike home and it all started there”

Filip, 21 and a native of Mlada Boleslav, retraces his past: "My dad and brother raced. At a certain point, when I was maybe two and a half, dad brought a minibike home. That was my first time on a bike, I liked it, and by 6 I was competing in my first real race, in Italy. I finished third, and then won".

Salac describes just how important motorcycling is to the Czech people: “The Czech Republic is a small country but it is home to many motorcycle fans. I think motorcycling is one of the most popular sports for us. Despite cold winters and very few tracks at which to ride, there’s a real desire to race. My advice would be to move to Italy or Spain, which is more or less what I did.”

Salac and his goal to be a regular top ten finisher in Moto2

The young rider trains in a particular way to handle the power delivered by the 765cc three-cylinder Triumph, a different world compared to the 250 single-cylinder Moto3 bike. “I moved up a category last year and immediately understood the demands of Moto2. The racing lines are different, I realised that, so I’m learning to lift the bike back up early and get on the throttle. Sometimes the rear slides, I like that, I had to get used to the sliding. This is why I’ve spent many hours riding a supermoto, doing flat track and also riding 1000cc bikes.”

Salac’s goal is clear: “To be a regular top ten finisher, avoiding past mistakes. I want to learn more and more every single weekend. I’m having fun, trying to make both the team and me happy".

Salac and MotoGP: the Brno fans would have a great representative

When dreams and objectives align, they become a goal. And for Filip this goal is an eventual move to MotoGP: "It’s too soon to say”, he comments, “but I admit that the thought is there. I’ve taken steps forward, climbed a few rungs, but the road to MotoGP is still long. Long, but I believe I can get there. The first desire is to win in Moto2, then I’ll take on each subsequent step to build my future".

The paddock talks about a possible return of the Brno circuit to the world championship calendar. Historically intertwined with the Czech GP and a much-loved track, this would make for the perfect conjunction. “It would be fantastic (he laughs). We’ll see. Like I said, I’m taking it day by day, putting together an interesting future. If I get the chance to compete in the reigning class, and Brno also returns to the calendar, then it’ll be a double dream come true".