Are you still pinching yourself or has it started to sink in?

Thanks a lot. It is starting to sink in but not completely. I still haven't had time to fully get my head around it. It is a wonderful feeling and now I have started to reflect and look back on all the hard work we have done this season. I think it will start to sink in properly when all this fuss is over and I am back home.

How does it feel?

Right now it is the best feeling I have experienced in my life.

Who is it dedicated to?

So many people. . . My father, my uncle Inda, Xavi, my whole family and all the people who have stuck by me. I always say that not everybody is there to fully support you in the bad times. Of course it is also dedicated to the BANKIA Aspar Team, where I feel very comfortable and part of a tight unit. I also want to offer this title to my boss and friend Jorge Martínez 'Aspar'.

Successor to Tormo, 'Aspar' and 'Champi'. . . how does that sound?

Nice. Very nice because I have heard them mentioned as great champions ever since I was a small boy and I always dreamed of being one day mentioned alongside them. It was those dreams that have allowed me to eventually become part of history too. I am starting to take it all in now and it makes me smile from ear to ear.

What do you have to say to 'Aspar', from one World Champion to another?

Thanks for my whole career, right from the Cuna de Campeones BANKIA. I am really happy to have achieved my dream alongside the school principal. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to race in the Spanish Champoionship. Thanks for the opportunity last year, all the advice... I think he will be proud of me. He is a great champion and he knows a lot about bikes. With his experience he was able to tell me what I needed to win this title. I also want to thank him for giving me a magnificent team of mechanics and top level material. Jorge does everything he can to make sure his riders have the best bikes and the best material.

When did you really start to believe that you could become World Champion?

After last year. We were performing at a high level throughout last season, we were working well and I knew that if we could continue like that then sooner or later we could do it. I suppose I can't say I really believed it until Sunday, when I had the title wrapped up. You need a million things to fall into place at the right time but if you believe in yourself and give everything then it's more achievable.

The high points of the year? And the low points?

The wins were the high points, obviously, but especially Jerez because it was my first win in front of my home fans. I really enjoyed Indianapolis too because of the way we dominated the whole weekend. The toughest moments were the injury at Assen and the breakdown at Brno. After Brno I had a lot of negative thoughts in my head but thankfully I was able to banish those with three straight wins.

Your hardest rival?

Zarco, without doubt. He has been consistent and at the end of a few races he was overly aggressive which made things hard for me right to the finish.

What was the key to the title?

Consistency, hard work and never backing off even when things were going well. Also the tight relationship within the team. This helped us to do a good job and maintain our ambition to win.

How hard was it to take the highs of three wins in a row, like you managed at Qatar, Jerez and Portugal and then again at Indianapolis, San Marino and Aragón alongside the lows of dropping fifty points at Assen and Brno?

Putting wins together is an incredible and addictive feeling. When you win once you want to keep doing it and then you need more and more. You put more demands on yourself and nothing but a win will do. When the two low points of the season came along I decided not to think about the championship anymore and just relieve that pressure. I said to myself: "Nico, if you deserve to win the championship then you'll win it. If not then it just isn't to be."

What does it feel like to cross the line and know that you are a World Champion?

It is the best moment ever. Before I crossed the line I could see my mechanics holding out the pit board with huge red letters that read: WORLD CHAMPION 2011. All the team were up there on pit wall... it was an incredible moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life. . . I really want to find a photo of that moment and hang it in my house so that I can see it every day. In just a few tenths of a second so many memories goes past your eyes and I remembered all the people who have always stuck by me. I just couldn't stop shouting: "I DID IT! I AM THE WORLD CHAMPION!" It sounded strange but wonderful.