WAROFTHEWORLDS
InsIde the mInd: World Champion Robert Batlle
Seven-time Spanish National Champion and two-time European Champion Robert Batlle has been
a competitive force in international competition for years and with many different chassis; before the
2012 Worlds he had three previous Finals appearances in 2004, 2008, and 2010. Racing in his first
World Championships with Mugen Seiki, he drove the prototype MBX7 to victory in its debut.
How confident were you in your chances to win the final?
Before the final we knew that we had a chance to win due to the time we made in the semi, which allowed us to start in the second spot. Although we agreed that a Worlds main is extremely hard to win
and anything could happen.
How do you feel your strategy played out? Would you have done anything differently?
The strategy went awesome, my pit guys (my dad and Marc Ibars) did a perfect job taking care of
all our competitors and I drove consistently as we planned, trying not to make too many mistakes. I
definitely wouldn’t do anything different.
What was the most important decision you made (car setup, tire choice, pit strategy, etc.) that
contributed to your finishing position?
I think everything we did was the most important decision—to become World Champion everything
should work perfectly. Although tires for the main were the only change we made (from soft compound to medium) and that allowed us to be a few tenths faster as well as more consistent.
When did you feel like you had reached your final finishing position? Did you ever think that you had
a chance to win?
When we were around 20 minutes to go, we had an average lead of 30 seconds so we decided to start
driving smoother and safer than before. Personally, I didn’t think my chance was any better than the
rest, so I felt like I had the same chance to win as everyone else.
How do you plan on preparing for the 2014 Worlds, and what do you think will be the biggest key to
victory?
We will keep working as we did for this Worlds, thinking the same and with the same attitude. I think
we don’t have to change anything in our work plan, which will be the biggest key to the victory.
