While winning the title of French 2005 cm125 Open Champion in 3, Mathieu took part in two Grands Prix in 125, then 5 in 250 on an Aprilia from the French GP-Scrab Team. He finished seventeenth in the Malaysian and Turkish GPs (the latter being won in 250 by Casey Stoner ahead of Dani Pedrosa, Hiroshi Aoyama, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, nothing but good people). Back in France, Ginès won the title of French 2009 Supersport Champion in 600, before winning again in 2011 as World Endurance Superstock Champion aboard the Team's Suzuki GSX-R 1000. Motors Events Bodyguard AMT with Vincent Bocquet, Emilien Humeau and William Grarre.
After being French Supersport Champion on a Yamaha R2013 in 6, Mathieu was crowned World Endurance Champion in 2014 with David Checa and Kenny Foray aboard a GMT1 Yamaha R94. In 2015 he placed 2nd in the World Endurance Championship and became German 1000 Superstock Champion. Ginès is now a driver for the ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance Team with whom he achieved the fourth fastest time in the last Bol d'Or, before having to retire in the race.
Mathieu, you signed for two years, alongside Julien da Costa and Kenny Foray, so from the last Bol d'Or (2018) to the 8 Suzuka 2020H. Is that an advantage? Does this give some peace of mind?
“It's definitely an advantage because endurance is a team effort and it takes a while for things to come together. It allows us to get to know each other better and create a work habit. This is beneficial in endurance races in order to improve final performances. So I think it's a real advantage to have contracts over two seasons.
“That doesn't make you feel comfortable saying 'I'm not risking anything' because we sometimes see contracts in motor sports that end prematurely, we're not civil servants. To create momentum and put good tactics in place, I think it's a positive thing. »
You ride for a German team, and you won the German 1000 Superstock Championship in 2015. What are the differences between the German and French teams?
“First of all, morals. When I was racing in Germany, they had a very good championship. Things were still going well until the end of 2015, then 2016 was a little more complicated. It's currently on the upswing because they held a championship with a unique tire manufacturer.
“As for morals, they are more geared towards speed than endurance. In terms of speed, it was great: it was a championship where we still earned our living when we rode an official motorcycle.
“The following year I was on an official BM and finished third in the Superbike championship. I didn't earn my living too badly for a national championship, which doesn't really exist anymore in France.
“In terms of endurance, it’s an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that these people have less long-term experience in these races, so they are quite open about how to approach things. The disadvantage is that certain things which seem obvious to us drivers who have ridden for well-known French teams – like me at GMT94 or Kawa, or Julien with the SERT, and Kenny the same – sometimes seem less fluid and logical to us compared to what we have known before. But it's good because they are very open and want to do their best every time. Afterwards, the passion for motorcycles is quite common between the French and the Germans. »
BMW achieved great feats in racing, in Superbike and in endurance, but without managing to win the world title. Its turnover being 98,678 billion euros (2017), it is not a money problem. From the outside, we have an impression of uncertainty, of indecision at the level of the Motorcycle Competition Department. Is this your impression too?
“It’s quite complicated because there are a lot of intermediaries, these are groups that are so big! There was a time when the factory was more involved, like in World Superbike with Troy Corser, Ruben Xaus, Marco Melandri, Chaz Davies and Leon Haslam. We saw real involvement from the brand at this level.
“Today the race has changed. And not just at BM, it’s general. Yamaha does not have a Factory team but delegates to teams like Crescent and GRT, Honda in Moriwaki-Althea, or Ducati in Aruba. It's the same principle in endurance.
“If BM wants it, tomorrow they snap their fingers and make an official team, it's not too much of a problem. But it is not in the brand's customs today to do this. »
Starting this Tuesday, Mathieu will talk to us in more detail of his official S 1000 RR, the World Championship and the upcoming races, including Le Mans and Suzuka.
Video: Mathieu Gines on video during Round 2 IDM at the Nürburgring (May 2016)
Photos © FIM endurance, Mathieu Ginès, Team ERC-BMW Motorrad Endurance
