MotoGP riders journey all around the world in pursuit of titles, however they don’t usually do it barefoot.
Nonetheless, former Moto2 star Axel Pons has given up his leathers for an occasional pair of Crocs, and astonishingly walked from Barcelona to Pakistan.
4
4
Having competed within the Moto3 and Moto2 feeder sequence from 2008 to 2017, Pons didn’t precisely impress, however maintained aspirations of graduating to MotoGP because of his double world champion father and group proprietor, Sito Pons.
But regardless of a strong profession in motorcycle racing and likewise modelling, the now 33-year-old put it behind him and threw his footwear away six years in the past in an try to ‘full the union with Allah or God’.
In July a Pakistani YouTuber interviewed a barefooted vacationer mountaineering roadside by himself, however solely now has the video been picked up and recognized as Pons.
In it the previous racer says he’s been strolling for 3 years, and 15 months in the past determined to make the arduous journey from Spain to Pakistan.
Pons provides that his travels have taken him by way of ten international locations, and his subsequent goal is China, however visa points have been problematic.
In one other clip that’s since surfaced, he explains why he gave up on his former life, saying: “I began to be slower and slower and slower, till I began to undergo the world slowly, appreciating the main points of life.”
“We solely had the need to finish the union with Allah or God, and that is our manner of praying and practising; strolling.”
The story lit up Pons’ native Spain, and motorsport.com reached out to his father who felt the necessity to defend his son over a number of the extra unfavourable reactions, together with a narrative that he’d been taken into custody.
Sito Pons stated: “Axel is ok and has by no means been arrested. He handed over the paperwork to the Pakistani company that was accountable for managing the visa to have the ability to enter India.
“What Axel is doing appears extraordinary to me and exhibits unimaginable bravery and braveness. It will likely be two years since he left Barcelona in March, at all times on foot.
4
“He started to elucidate to us that he wanted to stroll, see the world, perceive the philosophy of life, of religions, and he started his journey.
“On daily basis he will get up at 5 within the morning, does meditation and yoga, and goes for a stroll. You want plenty of self-discipline, plus he does not go to lodges and solely travels with a backpack, with the naked minimal.
“His thought has at all times been to succeed in India on foot. The issue is that the border between Pakistan and India is closed. So he determined to go to the Himalayas and spent 5 months there.
“Individuals began in search of him, taking pictures and speaking to him, fairly a narrative, simply what he did not need: he turned well-known and well-known there, and now it is occurring to him right here.
“It is so stunning and so superb what he is doing that it was predictable that it will go viral in Europe . And we have already seen what’s occurred in current days, it has been in every single place, fortuitously he is not conscious of what is occurring right here.”
Not simply defending his son, Sito went on to precise his pleasure over Axel’s journey, and revealed that he even joined for a part of it on the age of 65.
4
“Every time he can get on-line, he calls us and explains what he is doing,” he stated. “Some adventures are extraordinary.
“I keep in mind that once I had been strolling for a couple of months, I needed to share slightly piece of his expertise with him , and in certainly one of his calls I informed him that I used to be going to go see him, that was in July 2023.
“He informed me he was in North Macedonia and gave me instructions on how one can discover him. It wasn’t simple to seek out him, however I managed to take action and we spent per week collectively, strolling, speaking, sleeping within the forest. It was an unforgettable expertise.
“What bothers me is the little respect some have for the lives of others, the lies, and the truth that folks discuss with out having any sort of data . Quite a lot of curiosity has been created, and for some an alarm that’s false. Axel is making his personal manner.”
Requested if his son was conscious of the brand new media consideration, he stated: “It is humorous, as a result of he does not use social media in any respect, that is precisely what he does not need, none of that.
“However it’s having the other impact, since they did an interview with him in Pakistan, simply when he arrived within the Himalayan space, and that video has had tens of millions of views around the globe.
“Now he is change into fairly a personality and folks search him out to speak to him and get to know him.
“What Axel is doing is a feat and only a few folks on the earth can say they’ve performed something prefer it. It’s one thing so distinctive and stunning that I informed my spouse months in the past that this was going to blow up right here in Europe. It’s such an unimaginable story that when folks discover out about it, they are going to be , for positive.”
Throughout his Moto2 and Moto3 profession, Axel Pons recorded a greatest results of sixth on the 2016 Italian Grand Prix.
He additionally competed in opposition to world champions Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, recording 179 factors in 144 races.
