Back from the USA, Hervé Poncharal was kind enough, once again, to share with us his vision of Grand Prix news.
Once the case of the Folger rumor was explained, we logically arrived at Pol Espargaro…
And faced with our question, which was somewhat prickly, the response from the boss of Tech3 was both long, argued and obviously honest, with, in passing, a sort of little scoop; Yamaha could (conditionally) field three official motorcycles!
Hervé, doesn't the fact that Lin Jarvis announced at the start of the season that your drivers will probably no longer be part of your team in 2017 now put you in a difficult position? In other words, since the signing of Bradley Smith with Ktm, as you need an experienced rider, isn't Pol Espargaro in a strong position today?
Hervé Poncharal: “Look, I think I have always had good, pleasant, open, transparent and honest relationships with my drivers. I always had an honest conversation with them. When Bradley was in a very complicated period in 2014, especially after Germany where he had 5 falls over the weekend, we talked a lot during the summer break. I told him “you are in danger Bradley. We must, all together, react.” This winter I spoke to Pol and Bradley. I told them, “There you go. You, Pol, are in 3rd year. You, Bradley, are in 4rd year. The reality would be that you walk very hard and that a factory offers you a handlebar, since we are here to help young people progress. It turns out that it worked with Bradley, and as I already told you, somewhere we're a little sad when the adventure ends, but above all we're super happy for him.
Now, Pol is still happy with us, he tells me so every day. He would like to be more efficient, that is obvious, and we will continue to work to help him in this direction.
Personally, I told you previously, there are not dozens of pilots. Finding one, the rare gem, it's not going to be easy, so two is very difficult. Moreover, with two Rookie drivers, either you are a magician and you are lucky, and it works from the start like it did with Vinales and Marquez, but if your new driver, or your new drivers, struggle , there you are at the bottom of the hole. And I clearly understood, in talking with Monster, that they wanted us to produce results; it is still the basis for a competition team. So, of course, I would be quite happy to continue collaborating with Pol.
Now, the reality of his position and the potential that will be offered to him will mean that it will happen or it will not happen. But I quite agree with you and I would look favorably on a sure bet, which would be Pol, and testing a young man to prepare for the future. That would be clear.
It will of course be up to Pol to see, but if we look at the possibilities, what is there?
Factory Honda, it will be complicated, Factory Yamaha, it will be very very complicated, Factory Ducati, today they are rather too many than not enough, Factory Suzuki…. Mmmm… I don't think it's really an opportunity for him today, Aleix still got things back on track in Texas, but actually, I don't know, we'll see.
I think we still have things to offer him and, in the end, the decision will come from Japan. Because if we can imagine him staying with us, it is only with a contract structure identical to the one he had during the first three years. That is to say with a contract signed with Japan to ride at Tech3. He may possibly request a certain level of technical support, or even a level of technical support similar to what the two official drivers have. Because I, Tech3 alone, I don't think I can seduce him for his fourth year. »
Is the interview over yet? No.
Because Hervé Poncharal was kind enough to tell us, among other things, his little favorites from the start of the 2016 season…
