On the evening of this first day of testing for the Grand Prix of the Americas, and despite the little reluctances that we have already mentioned, we couldn't help but listen to Hervé Poncharal's comments following Johann Zarco's magnificent second place.
Although he was assailed by the international press, he took the time to respond to us and we thank him for it.
Hervé Poncharal : » I feel like I'm repeating myself but since you asked me, I'll tell you again anyway: we're living a waking dream! Johann is extraordinary! And we appreciate the extraordinary and magical side of it, because we are participating in the 27th season of Tech3 in Grands Prix, and before I did it for Honda France. We therefore know the difficulty of performing regularly at this level. There are the best drivers in the world, guys who are considered aliens, untouchable guys, demigods. So, yes, it's a daydream because we didn't expect it. In Qatar, we said to ourselves that it was a magical environment, a special moment that will be difficult to recapture, even if Johann had told you otherwise. Well no ! Every race, every day, every practice session, he gets stronger and stronger.
If you like, in Qatar what happened: there was a combination of circumstances, he had made a choice of slightly softer tires, the others did not want to take risks at the start of the race and seasonal… You can always find a whole bunch of downsides. In Argentina, he more than assured and caught up with what could perhaps be considered as a “youth ball”. And there, on such a technical and complicated circuit where the Yamaha usually struggles, he and Vinales show that the bike works! So yes, it's a bit of a dream. But I swear we're pinching ourselves! We are all happy.
There is also another thing that gives me immense pleasure. You know me and you know I'm a sentimental guy. Of course, I love sport and I love racing, and that's the basis of everything here, but I also love human relationships and exchanges where you don't just ride a driver, but where you live also with guys who have their qualities and their faults.
And with Johann, I didn't really know how it was going to go and I had already told you that. At Ajo, he had found a family. I talked about it with him in Indianapolis and he told me it was so magical that he wanted to make it last. And when someone tells you that, you say to yourself “wow… am I going to be able to make them happy?” “.
And last night, and this morning, he said things to me that made me happy. He told me “I was good there, but I’m even better here”. And I love that because he really enjoys spending quality time with us. Driving fast is the main thing, but there is also something, humanly speaking, which is terrible. It's important for us and, frankly, apart from the driver that we are discovering, who is a sublime driver, we can say, there is also a man of the same level.
When I think that there are people who said that he was not very talented and was only there thanks to an extraordinary capacity for work... I can say that this guy, he is ultra talented, he is gifted! When you see how quickly he learns MotoGP and the circuits… he’s an incredible talent! But it doesn't stop there and he's a guy who is super intelligent, he's cultured, he wants to learn everything and understand everything, and not just MotoGP or the circuits.
In short, we are currently living a wonderful dream, and we are impatient to know what happens next, but we also know that there will be more difficult times in which we will have to know how to show solidarity. We will be, because Johann fully deserves it. He bluffs me every day. »
