Marcel Hirscher tries out a MotoGP bike in Spielberg

“A dream came true,” said Marcel Hirscher on Tuesday after two and a half days of motorcycling at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. After a Moto2 bike on Monday, he got on a MotoGP bike on the second day and described the acceleration at the press conference at lunchtime: “Man and machine are already gone, the spirit is behind.” Hirscher's driving instructor was KTM pilot Johann Zarco.

The ski star and passionate motocross rider described how he had “huge respect” after starting the MotoGP bike for the first time because he knew that it was “something completely different” compared to the Moto2 machine. “It was the worst thing I've ever experienced in terms of acceleration.” He felt what the MotoGP pilots were doing: “It looks completely different on TV.” With a machine with around 270 hp and straight Skiing 170 kilograms once “was a moment that, apart from the daily business, was the most exciting,” said the ski ace.

Hirscher: “Like a German learning to ski” Despite Zarco's help, Hirscher didn't dare put his knees on the ground until Tuesday afternoon: "He drove ahead and had his index finger on the asphalt to say, further down," said Hirscher, who only thought to himself: "Him According to Hirscher, teaching him, as a motocross rider, to ride a motorcycle is “like teaching a German to ski.”

The eight-time overall World Cup winner stayed on the ground and was far away from a “wildcard” or real race, even in lower classes: “Schuster stick to your lasts. That was just going for a walk, for me it was racing, but it was fun and I want to put the motorcycle clean in the garage.” He could definitely imagine street machines as a hobby. By the way, he didn't have to ask his wife Laura for permission for the two days in Spielberg: “No one has complained yet. Everyone knows that my health is important to me and I know how valuable my body is.”

Hirscher didn't want to talk about the upcoming winter season in the Ski World Cup on Tuesday - the focus of the media event was on motorcycles and the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix from August 8th to 11th, for which tickets are still available. Hirscher was still able to draw parallels: “Skiing helped me with motorcycling - to be careful and considerate,” said the Salzburg native. A big difference is that on the bike in the race you can immediately see whether you are fast compared to the other pilots. When you ski, your internal clock keeps up with you: “I’ve been watching the time for the last ten years. This was just supposed to be fun.”

What was surprisingly different for him compared to skiing was the position of his head and neck: “They were a lot more difficult to take with me, I wasn't used to that. It was a change that the axles and the field of vision changed.” Hirscher was impressed by Valentino Rossi, who has been able to stay at the top of MotoGP for so long. Hirscher was grateful that he was “one of the very few people in the world who can’t actually ride a motorcycle who was allowed to ride a MotoGP bike.”

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Marcel Hirscher tries out a MotoGP bike in Spielberg

Marcel Hirscher normally has two ski rockets strapped to his feet. On Tuesday, the Austrian changed fronts and sat on a rocket on two wheels in Spielberg.

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