This was taken from an interview I did with Danny Webb for Motorcycle Racer magazine at the end of 2010:

“It’s weird really, as a lot of the riders who ride for Alberto Puig do find him scary, but I’ve always had a good relationship with him and a lot of that is down to trust. I felt, and I still feel, like I could tell him anything. I still talk to him a lot now, and I still go to him for advice when I need it.

“We’re good friends and we get along well. He’s fantastic to work with, although he’s also very tough on his riders, especially with things like fitness training, where he pushes you all the time. As long as you’re focussed when you’re at the track then he’s not quite as scary as some people might think!

“I think Alberto’s philosophy of opening the throttle and not shutting is not such a bad approach, really. When I was struggling Alberto used to go out and watch me through the parts of the track I was having problems with, then he’d come back and simply say, ‘Danny, just ride it like an animal, open the throttle and, if you crash, then you crash, it’s not a problem for me’.

“He was really good like that. He was fantastic. If he told you to do something then that’s exactly what he wanted you to do, no excuses, and you just had to trust in his advice, and also his judgement. Alberto’s raced at this level and he was fast, so he knows what he’s talking about.

“Having said that, I once asked him what happened when he had his big crash at Le Mans in ‘95. Apparently he was convinced that it was possible to ride a 500GP bike flat stick through the first turn, so he tried it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and it was a big crash! So maybe, when he tells me just to open the throttle and keep it open, I shouldn’t be so quick to follow his advice, but I always do!

“If he knows someone can do it then he’s pretty good at explaining things to you. One time in Jerez at the Spanish Championship at the last fast right, I was closing the throttle momentarily before getting back on the gas and he turned round to me and said ‘Danny, you can do it flat out. Get the line perfect and you can do it flat out.’ So, I went back out and tried it, and he was right. Since that day I always listen to what Alberto has to say and I put a lot of faith in his advice.”