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NewsAxel Pons: from Moto2 racer to modern-day pilgrim

Axel Pons: from Moto2 racer to modern-day pilgrim

Once a symbol of speed and competition, Axel Pons is now the embodiment of slowness and a deeply introspective spiritual quest. This former Spanish racer, son of two-time 250 cc world champion Sito Pons, radically changed his life after retiring from racing in 2017. Now 33, he roams the world barefoot, in search of a meaning to his existence, far from the paddocks.

From speed to walking; from light to shadow

For almost ten years, Axel Pons has roamed the Moto2 championship circuits, achieving his best result in 2016 with a sixth-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix. Talented but often in his father's shadow, he rubbed shoulders with the greatest riders of the time: Marc Márquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Maverick Viñales, Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo.

His name sounded like a promising pilot. Yet behind the helmet, a man in search of an identity was emerging. In 2017, an interview with ICON magazine revealed an inner fracture: "I needed to bury the pilot Axel Pons." That person is no more, and while we didn't expect to see him back in this form either, what happens next might surprise you...

Axel-Pons-pilote-Moto2

After his retirement from racing, Pons also gave up modeling and a love life he described as a "golden prison". Away from the pressure of the spotlight, he made the surprising choice to slow down his existence, in every respect. For the past six years, Pons has roamed the roads barefoot, carrying a simple backpack, living by the encounters and landscapes he encounters. The antithesis of the pilot, in short.

His radical choice divides people: some see him as a madman, others as an enlightened man. No matter for the man who would undoubtedly have preferred to remain anonymous, while enjoying the support of those closest to him, starting with his father, with whom he shared a week in the past year. But the Spanish press was quick to pick up on the story. " Fortunately, he's not aware of what's going on here," stressed Sito Pons for Motorsport.

Axel Pons: a spiritual and introspective journey

So why leave a life of wealth and fame for such an austere existence? The Covid-19, which he sees as an attempt at dehumanization and social control, marks a turning point in his thinking. This realization led him to abandon modern life even further and return to the essentials.

In a video posted on the YouTube channel "Wahaj Ali.B", the Catalan-born artist recounts his journey across Asia, from Spain to Pakistan, via dozens of countries. When asked for his name, he first introduces himself as "Isa", before revealing that this is a pseudonym borrowed from Islamic traditions: "Isa" is the Arabic name for Jesus. His real name, Axel, reflects a different era in his life.

"At a certain point, speed no longer made sense," he confides. "I slowed down my life, to the point of walking slowly, and eventually walking without shoes." For Pons, walking becomes a spiritual act, a way of reconnecting with God and nature, far from the artifices of the past. Or how to appropriate the expression "there's no point in running, it's better to start at the right point".

His quest led him to spend 15 months in Pakistan, in total immersion, accompanied by two fellow travelers. However, his journey has not been without its pitfalls: this summer, he was refused a visa for India. " If it's not India, it'll be China", he says, his eyes turned eastwards.

The weight of a heritage

Behind this mystical quest, there is also the weight of a family heritage. The son of a multi-millionaire convicted of tax fraud, Axel Pons grew up in a world of luxury that clearly never filled an inner void. It's a choice that may also reflect an attempt to respond to the identity crisis that many sportsmen and women go through after their careers: where some sink into oblivion or depression, he seems to have found his own way, far from expectations and conventions...

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