Participation in the 8 Hours of Sepang by Valentin Debise, alias VD53 in our columns, was announced late.
We were nevertheless able to contact the French pilot to find out his objectives as well as his 2020 program…
Valentin Debise, why this late announcement?
“Honestly, I really wanted to take part in this race. As all the places in the official teams have been taken for a long time, I wanted to ride in one of the teams that I already knew, of which there are two. I quickly found an agreement with the first but the latter changed his mind after some time, and I therefore then found an agreement with National Motos who were initially not sure of participating in this race. This is why it seemed natural to me at the beginning to go to a team that was certain to make the race. In the end, things fell into place because I know and get along well with National Motos: I know the two bosses very well, I know the team and I know what to expect. In addition, the person who is in charge of data for them, Damian Sapinski, is someone with whom I worked in World Supersport and whom I then placed at National Motos. So I'm not going into the unknown and I have confidence in the whole team. »
Who will be your teammate?
“Hikari Okubo, a young Japanese who recently hit the gas in World Supersport. He was teammates with Lucas Mahias and, I remember, he was in the top five a few times. He's a boy who has already ridden with National Motos at Le Mans. I don't know him particularly well but it's true that I have followed him since he rode under the yellow and blue colors: he is progressing well and we should be sufficiently homogeneous for everything to go well. »
What is the objective for this race at Sepang?
“The bike seems to have evolved a lot since I last rode it, but the main goal remains to race in December instead of staying at home riding the bike. It allows you to keep the rhythm in a period when, normally, you don't ride too much. Then, I hope that everything will go as smoothly as possible, that we will not make any mistakes or experience any incidents, whether for the mechanics or the drivers. An overseas race will be new for the team so there may be small hazards but the goal remains to try to have as uneventful a weekend as possible. If we get there, we know we will be in a good position at the end. »
Concretely, how much does that mean?
“I haven't talked to Hikari about it yet, but if you ask me a pilot what he wants to do is win! Afterwards, objectively, I don't think we can win, but the top 8 is undoubtedly something doable if we put everything together. »
How soon are you leaving?
“Departure Sunday!” Everything has been ready for a while, although it has only been announced now. »
How is your 2020 season shaping up?
“On the one hand, I'm still looking for Superbike tracks in America. There is a track that really interested me which has just been closed, for budget reasons, as usual. I still have two or three other possibilities, whether in the USA or in other championships, so I haven't made a decision yet. Generally speaking, and except in MotoGP, the movements of riders in the teams are quite slow and decision-makers are taking their time more and more. If I wanted to ride voluntarily, I could of course sign tomorrow, but the goal is still to be able to have a decent salary to be able to continue my training as it should be. »
On the other hand, I still work as a test pilot for Michelin. I don't talk about it too much but we have a lot of driving and work, which I really like. It's always very interesting to test different tires and have the ability to adapt to them and provide the most accurate feedback possible. Knowing the tires very well also helps me during my races, especially when there is a single manufacturer because I generally manage my tires much better than other drivers who are not used to doing this. kind of work. Also be able to dissociate the source of the problems, between the motorcycle, the tires, the engine or the suspensions. »
“As, in addition, we do a lot of laps each day of riding, it allows me to stay in shape and keep the rhythm. So for me, it's only positive and it's going very well: I have very good relationships with the whole team. »
