Double dose of pleasure
Partner with Valentine Debise, Paddock-GP took the handlebars of the Yamaha R1 and R6 of the double leader FSBK in the aftermath of races at Magny-Cours which he won all. A privilege coupled with legitimate curiosity... Why does he do this, and above all, how does he manage it so well?
About David Dumain.
Nothing is banal in this essay. Everything turned out to be crazy, like the challenges that Valentin Debise sets for himself every year.
The man is known from the speed paddocks in France, but also in Germany, the United States, and even in Grands Prix where he also left his mark. Before completing two full seasons in the brand new Moto2 category in 2010 and 2011, Valentin experienced the last two-stroke season in the intermediate category at the last minute and scored 18 points in 250. This short immersion in a category which made part of a certain golden era of Grands Prix gave him the desire to follow in the footsteps of Freddie Spencer, the last champion to have accumulated the titles in the same year in 250 and 500 in 1985, seven years before the birth of Valentin Debise? This is the question that burned our lips. The first of a thousand questions that we had to ask the singular Albigensian rider who currently leads the French Superbike and Supersport championships… The person concerned confirms his inspiration from the Spencer years, particularly at the time when his career took him to the native country of fast Freddie », in the AMA championship:
« I saw that at a certain time, drivers could race in both categories and that always intrigued me. I didn't understand why no one was doing it today. As soon as I arrived in the American speed championship, I tried to ride in both the 600 and 1000 categories and I liked it, even if at the beginning it was difficult for me to change bikes. It took me a lot of time, but today I’m okay…” Valentin has a sense of understatement, he who leads the two most prestigious French speed championships like a boss. The day after the Magny-Cours event, the fifth of seven meetings on the FSBK calendar, the Yamaha rider leads the Superbike championship with 39 points ahead of Kenny Foray and his BMW. In Supersport 600, where the Yamahas occupy the first 10 positions, the domination of the Debise phenomenon is even more obvious, his R6 ahead of that of Matthieu Gregorio by 89 points…
Valentin has always followed his own path, which will soon take him to the world stage again, for a stint in Supersport in Most this weekend, with the help of GMT 94. We responded with great pleasure to Valentin's invitation to try his FSBK Yamaha R1 and R6, the day after a Magny-Cours event which he led with head and shoulders, winning the four races the day before and consolidating his lead in the standings. The opportunity to experience moving from one motorcycle to another, as he has been doing for several years now, in the style of the pilots of the 60s and 70s, until the beginning of the 80s with the unforgettable double by Freddie Spencer in 1985. We had tons of questions to ask Valentin, but first, we rushed on his motorcycles for a few laps at Magny-Cours... Story of an experience as unique as the challenge taken on by Valentin.
« Box 23 ". Valentin's message appears on my phone as a few drops dot my windshield. Magny-Cours is only a few kilometers away, but there is only an hour of driving left. It's going to be tense... Since the day before, I've had a hard time covering the approximately nine hours of driving (via Toulouse) between the Catalunya circuit and that of Magny-Cours, the fault of my participation in the 24 Hours of Barcelona , eight years after the last one. I thought about giving up a few hours earlier when I was taking a series of sleep breaks at each rest area, but a phone call from Valentin reinvigorated me. “ We have prepared the two motorcycles for you with new tires… » Such an offer cannot be refused, even if I only do a handful of laps with each one, like in the blessed days when the official teams entered in Grands Prix invited a handful of journalists to take the handlebars of the missiles of Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa and others. We only had five laps allowed on the Desmosedici, ZX-RR, RC-V and other M1s, but five unforgettable laps, of which we savored every meter, every second. I was determined to do the same on the handlebars of the two motorcycles installed at the top of the two French Superbike and Supersport championships, both driven by the same man. And determined to then ask him my multitude of questions…
First, the test. Fortunately, the rain was only temporary. By the time I put my wetsuit back on, still smelling from the day before, the routes will be dry. The timing is perfect, the tires are at temperature, me not quite… Gregory Leblanc takes a look and offers to follow me with his camera, “ but you must not drive under 45, I no longer have a brake... ". No risk... In eleven Bol d'Ors, including ten here in Magny-Cours, I have not often gone below this bar. Since 2014 and my last participation, the bikes and tires have certainly made progress, but I have followed the opposite curve. There's nothing like a 24-hour race to get back into the swing of things, and if it's not a certain fatigue, certain automatisms have nevertheless returned at the right time to allow you to appreciate Valentin Debise's toys at their true value. First the R1, which will disorient me less than the R6, after two laps of the clock riding a 1000.
Penultimate session of the day, no time to waste. I stall immediately... The clutch is very sensitive. Valentin attaches particular importance to it, and changes it at each race, because the Superbike regulations do not authorize engine preparation as in Supersport. “ With the electronics and clutches that must be left original in France, the 1000 was more complicated to adjust than the 600 » confides Valentin. “ It's more complicated to have a good suspension-tyre-driver agreement ».
From the first lap, I was surprised by the ease of the R1, as well as the power of its braking. If my remark will surprise Valentin when I tell him my first impressions, it is however this chapter of braking that he notes first when I ask him to tell me the most delicate point to manage in terms of piloting when passing from one motorcycle to another. “The biggest difference in handling between the two bikes is the braking point. I always braked too late with the 1000, which is complicated when you have to stop it with its greater weight. I tend to brake too late, which causes me to miss my apex points. I had to force myself to brake earlier on the 1000.” In fact, the braking power seems unfathomable to me, but I try not to get into trouble in Adelaide, where the R1 follows my gaze exactly. This bike appears to be fine-tuned, but Valentin later confided that he had not carried out “only a few clicks on the fork”, focusing more on adjusting the engine braking. “It’s essential for me, more than traction control, because it’s what makes the bike turn. We rarely touch suspensions in general.” Whatever the method, the result works regardless of the pace.
The R1 obeys the finger and the eye, including in the very complicated 180° sector, where I change my trajectory with each turn. It’s not easy to apply the method described so simply by Valentin: “ With the 1000, you have to try to break the turns, even sometimes by exaggerating, to spend as little time as possible on the angle ". Not so simple, because the arrival of power remains a delicate moment, despite the electronics keeping watch. The Yamaha cross-plane four-cylinder pulls viciously and veers off course when accelerating, so I have to constantly correct my lines by reducing the throttle or applying the rear brake. The sharp bends at Adelaide and Lycée are a problem for me. Should I negotiate them first or second? It might be easier with the 600…
When I later question Valentin on the subject, he agrees that gear management is one of the trickiest to manage when competing in two categories, due to what he calls the "philosophy" of piloting: “On a circuit like Magny-Cours, with the 1000 I will use a longer gear to round the corners because we spend a lot of time on the corner. In Pau too, I used a fairly long gear on the 1000 to be between first and second, but it was more complicated, because with the 600 I had adopted a very short gear to be between second and second. four. There is a corner that I pass in two with the 1000 and in four with the 600. But it also depends on the philosophy that I want to adopt on one or the other bike, because when going from one to the 'other, the trajectories change, the acceleration points, the trigger points. In fact, there are a lot of different points to manage, but here at Magny-Cours, it was pretty much okay. » With four victories in as many races, we want to believe it...
Valentin's ability to adapt is impressive. I will be able to judge mine by going from the R1 to the R6. And the slap will be impressive. Completely disconcerted by the difference in power, I will have the greatest difficulty finding my trajectories. The same goes for the braking, which I will trigger in the same place as with the 1000, knowing full well the crazy margin I leave each time, which the quickshift will cruelly remind me of when entering the gears. This R6 seems to have incredible potential, but I can't exploit it. I decide to no longer look at the onboard timer to concentrate on driving. The disappointing effect of the lack of power is lessening, I try to enter the curve more quickly, especially at 180°... but I am still fumbling despite the precision of the bike. This transition from one motorcycle to the other disturbs me more than expected, even though Valentin had warned me: “ The difficulty is adjusting between one motorcycle and another, because riding a 600 and a 1000 has nothing to do with it. On the 600, I have a lot of speed going through curves, whereas with the 1000 you have to stop and encourage the exit, raise the bike to put the power to the ground. » It seemed simple, said like that…
I still ended up completing a lap without hesitation, to end the session... in the same second as with the R1. I am ashamed. I tell myself that I was bad with the 1000. That I won't give my time in the article. That I will threaten Valentin with reprisals if he communicates it… In short, I am frustrated when I return to the box. I want to continue. I cursed myself for arriving at the end, when several Michelin trains were reserved for me. I almost forget that in just one hour, I had a lot of fun with these two machines. Twice as much as if I had only tried one. I also tell myself that I'm going to change my title, which I had prepared before getting on Valentin's motorcycles. “ Double dose of speed » will become “ double dose of pleasure ". I apologize to Valentin for having taken so little advantage of the opportunity he offered me. He doesn't seem to care. He is relaxed, as he is every time I have had the opportunity to meet him. Relaxed, but dedicated to doing things correctly.
We sit down for the debrief, without taking the time to change, wetsuits on our hips. I told him how good it was, but also how difficult it was to switch from one bike to the other. He is starting to get used to it, having practiced this double commitment not only in France last year, but also in the German championship last year, as well as in previous years in the United States. “ I spent four years in America and it was a great experience, I wanted to discover the way the guys worked. I really wanted to adapt to their way of working and not reproduce the way I was used to in Europe. It worked well because I made the effort to integrate. The hardest part is adapting to the motorcycles, to the very bumpy circuits with lots of chicanes and to the tires, because the Dunlops that are used there have nothing to do with the Dunlops that we have in Europe or which are used in Japan. So I went to live there, I took an original motorcycle, I went to ride on circuits that weren't even those of the championship to get in the atmosphere of what was going to await me, and I tried to adapt my driving and my preparation for the circuits. This is what allowed me to succeed in winning races. »
Valentin's real ability to adapt should not overshadow the work done by the Albigensian driver, particularly to adapt to the tires. This day at Magny-Cours the day after the FSBK was notably dedicated to finding the right settings for the Pirelli in preparation for the World Supersport round in Most. A real approach for those who made the winning bet to compete in the Supersport 600 championship with a machine with minimal preparation: « Engine preparation is very expensive, more expensive than going to practice on a circuit. I made the bet to stay original, just putting a slightly thinner head gasket to gain a little power. We gained between 4 to 5 horsepower, while we have the right in 600 to do metrology, to install camshafts, so I only sin in power compared to certain adversaries who refine their a little more. engine. On the other hand, I use racing fuel for qualifying and the heats. Not for free trials, for reasons of savings. This is the minimum step to win: I invest money in what seems essential to me: going to train, having well-adjusted suspensions, clutches that work perfectly in cohesion with the electronics... And for the tires , I am served royally with Michelin. »
His status as a tester for the Clermont-based manufacturer also benefits him on another level: “ It gets me used to adapting to tires or situations. Before getting on the R1 or the R6, I already know exactly what I'm going to do, where I'm going to brake, how I should drive depending on the conditions. Then I obviously adapt to the race. The advantage of discussing the two categories is that I can draw inspiration from what I can do in one to apply it to the other. I can sometimes make a turn with the 1000 like a 600 and vice versa. »
Everything seems easy with Valentin... To the point of reproducing his double commitment on a global level? Valentin tempers: “First of all, it’s impossible from a regulatory point of view. And even if the regulations authorized it, it's not certain that a team would want to try it, because it's complicated. The world level requires me to get even closer to the limits, but at each of my race starts, I'm not really there. In world championships, the race can be over if you lose tenths from the start, or even hundredths. In the French championship, things are going fast and we are breaking records at the moment, but there are not around twenty of us in the same second. If it takes me a lap to adapt, the race is dead. Frankly, if I have the chance to ride in the world, one category will be enough for me…”
Nothing is less certain with this bulimic of challenges. Especially since he lends his toys…
Partners of Valentin Debise: SPARK (exhausts); K-TECH/TOURNAY Distribution (suspensions); MOTUL (oils); MOTO MASTER (brake discs); ZCOO/TOPTEC (brake pads); BLINDER (instrumentation, lighting); SPIDER; I2M/NR BIKE (motor mapping, data acquisition); CBO Track Days; MICHELIN; BEST OF BIKES; SPEEDWAY; SN Diffusion, GALESPEED/TOURNAY Distribution ; PADDOCK-GP.com.
