Étienne and his Suzuki Endurance Racing Team teammates, Vincent Philippe and Gregg Black, experienced a terrible moment when they lost the world title in the final minutes of the Suzuka 8H. At the Bol d'Or, luck completely changed and while the official Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki were eliminated due to oil on the track, SERT was this time the beneficiary of luck and won the event, thus taking the lead in the World Championship.
Étienne, before talking about the Bol, we will briefly return to the Suzuka 8H. What exactly happened to you at the end of the race?
" It's simple. To summarize the situation, raindrops appeared when we just had to keep our position to win the title. Except that there was the Moriwaki with a Japanese driver who was going very fast and who came over me. He was behind me and we only had to lose one place to miss the title. »
“During our last refueling, the team informed me that it was going up very quickly, so that I had to “put in a ladle” to consolidate our position. That's what I did. For three laps I managed to maintain the gap, and even increase it, so the objective was met. I just had to finish the race at that pace to win the title. »
“But at the exit of the last chicane (before the finishing straight), I felt that the engine was not revving correctly and that it was not working as usual. When I cut the gas, it broke. I understood that there was a problem, but without being certain that the engine had broken because it was still running, it was not stalling. Unfortunately in my head it went wrong, so I didn't make the right decisions by returning to the track a little, because my objective which was clear was to bring the bike back to the finish line. »
“The problem is that I was told that I had put oil, but it took Race Management three laps to bring out the red flag, and during these three laps none of the 60 drivers on track fall. »
“It was then difficult to manage mentally because we lost the title 3 minutes from the end. I got fined for that. Not only did we lose the title, but I was also fined... It was quite hard to digest for me, but also for the whole team because we were close to our main objective. It was two years of hardship that were erased, but we were still unlucky. »
“It was the last of the Chef and of all the old team who then left after the restructuring of SERT, so it was a shame to finish with such little luck. It would have been nice if they all left with a title. »
During the last Bol d'Or, the SERT had a new look, with management now ensured by Damien Saulnier, and a more discreet role of consultant for Dominique Méliand. What has changed in the team?
“It changed a lot of things. We knew Damien a little bit with Gregg (Black) and Vincent (Philippe) because all three of us rode for the Junior Team. We already knew a little bit how he was going to manage, but between the Junior Team and the SERT, it's still a completely different team, especially another pressure. »
“All three of us were pleasantly surprised because he was able to calmly manage all the hazards of the race, and what's more, it wasn't an easy race mentally. He fulfilled his role very well. He knew very well how to support himself, for example, with people from Yoshimura who helped him make good decisions. It's cool ! »
After the Suzuka disaster, you were finally blessed with luck at the Bol d'Or. Does your victory give you an advantageous position for the rest of the Championship?
“Yes because we scored the maximum number of points during the race, so obviously we are approaching the rest of the Championship a little more calmly. We know very well that the title is not won, far from it, we saw it again last year. But we start with many more advantages compared to the others, and they will be the ones who will have the pressure to catch up. »
“It’s up to us to manage our lead correctly and not fall asleep because we will have to attack anyway. In the 8 hour races the pace is very high. Last year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we never managed. It's far from being won, but we're always a little more serene to start the season like this, rather than like the others have done. »
Vincent Philippe will make his last race in two weeks at the Sepang 8H. How do you envisage his departure, he who has been a pillar of SERT for a long time, then his succession?
“Vincent has been talking to us about stopping for a while now. It's sure going to be weird because it's my sixth year at SERT, so I've always known it there. We went through some very tough times together, we won races, we won titles, we went through a lot of emotions together. »
“Vincent is the “big brother” who watches over us, who gives us little tips, even if Gregg and I accumulate more and more experience. Vincent always has a little word to say to reassure us. His departure will leave a big void, but I think he will come to the races and stop by the box to give us a couple of pieces of advice. »
“I think it's the right time for him to stop after this victory at the Bol, which makes up for the title miss at Suzuka. For him it's great. He's setting new goals with his store, so I'm happy he's finishing like this. He's been a great teammate and we're going to enjoy our last race together. We will do everything to make sure it goes well. »
Concerning his future successor from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, can we talk about it or not?
" I do not prefer. I'd rather Damien talk about it than me. There are tracks, it won't really be a surprise. But it’s not my place to talk about it.”
The Sepang 8H will soon be the second race of the World Championship. This is a big novelty in endurance. How do you envision this original event?
" It's great. It’s really a success to go there for the Championship. Racing in winter was the main objective of Eurosport Events when they took over the Championship. It's a different atmosphere than Japan, or Qatar where I had raced in the past. »
“It’s nice because during the GPs there are a lot of people in Sepang. I don't think we'll be able to attract as many as MotoGP, but there will be curiosity with new teams and new riders. Coming up against Morbidelli or van der Mark will be cool. We are already used to fighting against riders who are very strong in Japan, but here it will be different because they don't have the factory bike. The gaps between the machines will be a little smaller, so for us it will be interesting to go there. I don't know, but Vincent, who has already been there, told us that it was a magnificent circuit. We saw images of the circuit lit up at night. I think the organizer has done everything possible to ensure that we are well received, so I can't wait to put my wheels down there and take my first spins! »
Photos © Suzuki Racing
