5th in the world championship Supersport in 2023 and 4th in 2024, Valentine Debise has again finished this 2025 season in 5th position, but this time adding his first two victories to his record in the intermediate category of series-derived motorcycles.
While Some news has already leaked about his futureWe were able to interview the Albi native nicknamed VD53 before his new (and umpteenth) challenge…
🎤 So Valentin, we haven't spoken to you in a while. Now that the 2025 season is over, can you give us a summary?
Valentine Debise “So, the overall result is quite positive compared to my expectations because, for my objective, I told myself that if I got a podium finish this year, I'd be happy. In the end, I managed to be at the front right from Australia. After that, actually getting a podium took a little longer, but I knew I had the speed several times, and in fact, in almost every race. But for various reasons, I struggled to put everything together, and in the end, I still managed a podium in Cremona, then another in Misano. And even, I felt I had the speed to win, but once again, with the difficulty of putting it all together. I knew it was going to happen, but I wasn't sure I could do it, due to external factors, let's say. And in the end, I managed to win my first two races and follow it up with another podium. So I could have easily won two more, between "If we hadn't had mechanical problems, that is to say. So, overall, the result is positive compared to my expectations, but given the general level has dropped slightly this year by 2 or 3 tenths of a point in the races, I think we could have done much better, even though I can't complain about my season."
🎤 Okay, so it feels like the season was split into two parts because of the Balance of Performance (BoP), which can change every three races, I think, and penalizes one bike, benefits another, and so on, to keep everyone more or less on an equal footing. At the beginning of the year, we saw the Yamahas dominating, and then, starting with Aragon, they changed the BoP, and from then on, boom, you won…
“So yes, it can be changed every three races, or even every two races since this year, but just because it can be changed every two races doesn't mean it's actually changed every two races. This year, they only changed the Balance once, in the end. And I think that at Aragon, I could have won, Balance or no Balance, it wouldn't have changed anything. So, I think the Yamaha did have a slight advantage over the others this year, but I think it's more of an overall story, also with the level of the teams, because in the end, the Yamaha, for sure, was ahead, but at the same time, they had the best riders. So I think if you put those riders on another bike, they would have been ahead too. And if you look, as I said before, if you look at the lap times, then in qualifying and warm-up, it's true that we managed to break track records several times, but the race pace was quite slow, between In quotes, compared to last year when they were extremely fast. So to say that the R9 is a very good motorcycle, I'm not sure. However, to say that it's a well-designed and easy motorcycle, that I'm certain of.
Easy and well-designed, because they managed to be fast right from the start, and all the riders who get on it, even guys you don't even know exist, manage to be at the front. So the bike must be easy to ride. Then again, there are plenty of times when I looked at the lap times I was doing last year with the R6, and I would have won the races, especially at Jerez, to take the last race as an example. With my lap times from last year, I would have won the race hands down. So, sometimes you have to take the performance of this year's bikes with a grain of salt. For example, there wasn't a factory Ducati anymore, so that's also what made the R9 better, but then you put a factory Ducati back on; it'll tear everything apart. So, you have to take all of that into consideration, and it's difficult to have a truly objective opinion on all these Balance of Performance (BoP) systems, because for me, there are bikes that are ahead, but they're ahead because the BoP is really in their favor, even though the teams or riders aren't up to scratch. But I think there are bikes—I won't name them—but I think there are bikes that you put in good teams, and they win by 10 seconds. The R9, anyway, we saw that the slightly weaker teams were really struggling this year with that bike, so I don't think it's an R9 issue.
Now, to get back to your question “Did it help me? Yes or no?”It's hard to say. What's certain is that, starting in Aragon, I began riding with really short gears so it wouldn't stall in sixth gear, because we were really lacking power, whereas the R9s, since they lowered the revs to avoid shifting too far over the limit, they lengthened the gear ratios. So that meant that when they were in sixth gear, the bike would stop dead. And that's why we saw, especially at Estoril, that in sixth gear, I was able to overtake the guys. But it's not about power or balance; it's really about how you use the bike.”
🎤 Okay, interesting. So, after your victories, did you feel a change in the paddock, in the looks and words of the other drivers, team managers, mechanics, sponsors and organizers?
“Yeah, for sure. Well, I never doubted I could win. Last year, I didn't feel like I could win, but this year I really felt stronger than the others at times. And even though sometimes I wasn't in the right positions or on the podium, I felt stronger than the others, and I know that when I have that feeling, I'm not wrong. After that, it's true that a driver, as long as he doesn't win, well, he's second, and there's a big difference between second and first in the eyes of the others. So, yes, I think I've earned the respect of the community.”
🎤 So the season is over but there are things you can't say yet, so we'll start slowly, and people will understand…
Valentin Debise changes teams every year, so he might change teams next year too…
"So, every year, it's not something I choose. My intention last year was to stay with the same team, and now, yes, I'm going to change teams again. But I'm going back to where I was, to a team I was with, so do we count that as a change (laughs)?"
🎤 So now, for reasons everyone will understand, we're going to move into the realm of imagination. Let's imagine a rider arrives at a team with a brand new motorcycle, one we've never seen before. We don't know what it's worth. Would that be motivating or would it be a handicap?
“Well, anyway, to get back to what we were talking about earlier regarding the teams, the drivers and the Balance of Performance, what you need to understand is that last year, when I left the team, I told myself, "Okay, I'm going to aim for the best motorcycle."And actually, it was a mistake on my part, because this best bike, if it's not the factory team's, is really struggling in terms of engine performance. And unfortunately, I'd love to know the answer to that, but I can't tell you why. So, what I told myself for next year was... “Okay, now we need to target the teams”That's the only thing that matters; you have to target the teams, and even more so a team where they're the only ones using the bike. That means the team has control over the regulations, so to speak, for the homologation of parts, for the homologation of maps, for the homologation of everything. It means that a good team can really make a difference compared to a team that's only there, so to speak, to exploit a bike. If the good team has the exploitation, plus control over which parts can be homologated or not, well, for me, that's a real advantage over the others. So my thinking for next year has really gone in that direction more than choosing the bike. Because if you listen to the guys who only watch the races, they tell you, "Yeah, you need an R9." Me, I think the R9 isn't the right bike for next year. "Maybe I'm wrong and maybe my reasoning is completely stupid, but we'll have the answer next year."
🎤 It's interesting because when a brand new motorcycle arrives, there's no reference point, so how does Dorna decide whether or not to restrict it?
“Unfortunately, I can't tell you that (laughs). After Dorna, they have access to the motorcycles and all the parts that we homologate. They put the motorcycles on the dyno; there's real work involved with competent engineers behind the scenes, who will do their job as best as possible.”"Well, you'd need to interview a specialist on this subject, because I'm just a pilot, I don't have all the information."
🎤 What do you promise us if we go to Albi at the end of November for your party?
“I promise you, like last year, a great atmosphere, a good time sharing, having time to talk, discuss, exchange with people, having a good time with the go-kart race, with the quiz which is always fun. My cameraman will be there to capture the moment, so it will be a good time of sharing and fun.”
Supersport 2026 Valentin Debise Supersport 2026 Valentin Debise Supersport 2026 Valentin Debise Supersport 2026 Valentin Debise Supersport 2026 Valentin Debise
