During exclusive interviews that Hervé Poncharal gives us at each Grand Prix, the factual is often tinged with emotion, depending on the results.
And his two pilots always give him emotions, day after day, sometimes radiant, sometimes darker. Despite his experience, Hervé Poncharal always lives the race with the greatest passion, and it is always a great pleasure when he enlightens us on some aspects of it, as is still the case today...
Thanks to him !
From the outside, we had the impression that on the first day, in the rain, Johann was excellent, but that when it was necessary to adjust the bike in a single session before starting qualifying, for a Rookie and his first laps in MotoGP on this circuit, he missed time even more as he crashed at the very start of FP3. Does this correspond to reality?
Hervé Poncharal : “In any case, we knew that Aragon would not be easy because it is a very technical circuit and very complicated to manage. It's not necessarily Johann's favorite circuit either, even if he quickly gets everywhere. It's clear that the first day, which was unusable to get information on the settings for the dry, was a waste of time. But Johann is the worker that we know and that we will no longer introduce: he is a hard worker and he is still the one who did the most laps on Friday. He knows he has to learn in all conditions and he's not yet as comfortable as some of MotoGP's top guns in the wet. So he worked a lot and found himself third, and first Yamaha rider. Moreover, in the evening, Yamaha, through Mr. Tsyua, came to see us to thank us, because thanks to Johann's comments and adjustments, they understood a lot of things that will be potentially useful to all riders. Yamaha.
But it is also fair to say that some drivers did not seek the feat in the wet, knowing that the next day it would be fine. Vinales also told me that he didn't want to take unnecessary risks while he was fighting for the title.
In any case, we had worked well. Obviously, the next day, after the first two laps where the times from the day before were improved, we found ourselves in a sort of qualifying session with the pressure that comes with it. The result may be a desire to push faster than usual, even if the settings are not yet perfect and you don't really feel comfortable. It's true for everyone, but once again, the rookies are the most penalized, and despite our little problems, we were still better Rookies. So yes, already the session is short, you quickly lose a quarter of an hour after a fall and the rider certainly puts a little negative pressure on himself, especially since it is rare for the feeling with the second bike to be 100 % the same as with the first. All these little things mean that we miss the top 10, but that's part of the race, and anyway, it's not the first time that we had to go to Q1 with Johann. »
On Saturday evening, Johann still had confidence potentially being faster than the others in the race, with the worn tires. But ultimately, we realized that the others were also very fast, and he could not achieve his goal which was the top six…
" Yes, that is right. I think that anyway, the track has evolved enormously throughout the weekend. Sunday was by far the hottest day, and in fact the two official Yamaha riders, who were to start on medium, changed their minds on the grid while looking at their direct opponents in the championship. They went hard. Nobody was very confident because they hadn't driven much with these tires. Johann had made the bet to start soft at the front and at the back, thinking that perhaps, at the start of the race, this would help him gain places compared to an average position on the grid, to find yourself in the right package. And by analyzing the laps, particularly in FP4, we saw that Johann was very consistent with tires that had the racing distance. But hey, it never really happens quite the same in racing. He therefore hoped, during the second part of the race, to have a little more consistency and fewer problems than some. It wasn't the case but he had a solid race, very solid. He was very consistent in his times, but so were the others. That said, even if we saw Rossi at the front at the start of the race, we clearly saw that he was missing something at the end of the race, just like in Vinales. Both complained of excessive slippage in the last third of the race, as it was clear that the Honda and the Ducati were a bit better in this phase of the race. They were on hard, we were on soft, and we all suffered a little, which proves that it's not just the choice of tire that's everything. In any case, we didn't miss out with Johann because the tires were fine on arrival. Not ripped off or destroyed at all. And he, of course, was a little limited by the front and by skating, but nothing more than the others. In the end, it was still a good race since he finished 13 seconds after starting far on the grid. It's still not huge. He once again finished first independent, because we cannot say that Espargaro on the official Aprilia is an independent driver even if his commitment to an independent structure places him as such. So, first non-factory and first Rookie: there you go, the job has been done.
However, I would like to point out something. Everyone saw it, we had a podium at Le Mans with Johann Zarco, then a podium in Germany with Jonas Folger. Johann was regularly fighting in the top five, such as in Qatar, Argentina, Texas and Jerez.
However, we see that since the return from the summer break, the official Yamahas are now using a chassis which was initially a prototype which was only due to be released in 2018. But given the problems they encountered, the riders put pressure on it just right. title to have it. Good pick since since this chassis started rolling, we have seen much better performances from Rossi and Vinales. And if you look at what’s happening at Ducati, at Honda, at KTM or even at Aprilia, things are also moving a lot! The satellite team status means having identical equipment, from the first Grand Prix in Qatar until the last Grand Prix in Valencia. It's like that. Despite everything, we are at the top of the Rookie ranking, we are today at the top of the ranking of independent drivers and teams, so we are clearly fulfilling our mission, and even very, very well. But we are competitors, it is in our genes and our guts, and we want to fight. So already on equal terms, we have difficulty finishing behind, but when we know that the others are evolving technically speaking, and that we are stagnating, we know it, we accept it, we are still very satisfied to be able to play at that level, but there is still a little frustration. Today, it's not that of the pilots because they concentrate on their job and are still in the learning phase, but I do: I have a little hint of frustration. I always say to myself “what would we do with Rossi and Vinales’ bike?” ".
Let's be clear, this is not a rant, but it must be noted that since the return from the summer break, Johann has less opportunity to find himself mixed up in the pack of factory motorcycles at the front. We see him less in the leading group at the start of the race. I always remember Jerez where he started six and overtook all the drivers one by one to temporarily find himself in the lead. These are things that happened a few months ago, and I don't think Johann has become a worse MotoGP rider, since every day, with every lap he does he becomes a better MotoGP rider. He is making significant progress. But there. That’s how it is, you have to accept it. »
This little hint of frustration is perhaps all the more present as Yamaha's policy is significantly different from those of Honda and Ducati, with regard to satellite teams. Crutchlow does have a factory Honda, and Petrucci a Ducati GP17…
“Yes, it’s true that we spoke with Cal and he confirmed that he had the specs of Márquez and Pedrosa. And Petrucci, it is by contract that he has the same bike as Dovizioso and Lorenzo. Now, Yamaha has still fumbled quite a bit this year with their two factory riders who have the mission to bring back the title. So it has certainly kept them very busy, and this is illustrated by the 2018 bike which has been running since mid-2017 season. They therefore cannot be in the oven and at the mill, and it is clear that, today, their priority is not Tech3. Once again, Tech3 is there to allow Johann and Jonas to do a Rookie season, which they do very well: they try to be the best independents against Petrucci and Crutchlow who are with 2017 bikes. For the moment, things aren't going too bad. Tech3 therefore does what it has to do, more than correctly. The factory team, especially after Maverick Vinales' incredible winter tests, is not as at the forefront as it hoped. So he focuses hard on Vinales and Rossi, and lets us do our job. I understand their position, but we always want to have the latest developments, to have the most efficient machines, whether in the field of chassis, suspensions, engine or aero. It's the game of motor sports! I'm not saying that we would do much better or that Johann would win all the Grands Prix if we had that, but in any case, the question is there, and the desire to see, it exists! It's human, it's logical, and it would be illogical for someone who calls themselves a competitor, and who is involved in competition, not to have this little touch of frustration. But let's be realistic, it's clear that the number one team at Yamaha is and will always remain the factory team. »
