During the 2016 French Grand Prix, we had the privilege of being able to interview Mr. Jacques Bolle, President of the French Motorcycling Federation.
As we do it on a fairly regular basis with him, we were able to address different facets of speed motorcycle sport that are close to our hearts, whether it be its elite riders or its accession by the greatest number of people.
Mr. President, on the occasion of this French Grand Prix at Le Mans, can we take stock of the situation at the top of the pyramid of French motorcycle speed competition, since, yesterday in any case (editor's note: interview carried out on Saturday), our representatives have all come forward?
“I am not personally surprised or surprised by these promising performances. I have always said that we have a level, which is certainly not that of the Spaniards and this will undoubtedly still be the case for a certain number of years, but which is a very good overall level. I must regularly remind myself that we are the outgoing World Champion in Moto2, that we were World Champion in Superbike two years ago and that we are World Endurance Champion every year.
So in fact in speed, and in other disciplines like motocross or Enduro where we have won everything for many years, French riders have a very good level. And the next generation is there.
Of course, all the conditions must be met to shine, but we can clearly see that Jules Danilo, who few people thought would be capable of performing well, is at the forefront of this Grand Prix. It was third time yesterday, at the end of the day. He will of course have to confirm it, but it shows that he has the potential. In any case, he is obviously capable of doing much better than what some thought.
For Fabio Quartararo, I would say it's a little bit the opposite. Everyone thought he was going to ruin everything... We have to give him time! The potential is there! He will be a great champion, that's almost certain. Let's wait a little bit because we rushed a little too much. In any case, that was my opinion last year because I considered that we were going too quickly; Asking a boy of just sixteen years old, or even younger, to win everything or to be at the forefront instantly, was in my opinion too much to ask. We will give him one or two more years and he will have a very good career.
This isn't really a surprise to Loris Baz either. We know he has very good potential. He has a better bike this year, and he immediately moved up a step.
And if we talk about Alexis, who is a sure bet today, obviously he does not currently have a sufficiently efficient machine. If it improves, and it seems that we are starting to see a positive development, it will be better. He clearly needs a machine with better potential and he demonstrated, again last year, that with a good bike he could win a Grand Prix.
We will end with Johann who only confirms what we already knew about him. He's a boy who will perhaps allow us tomorrow to win our first French victory at Le Mans in a category other than 125cc or Moto3. “
It already seems to be shaping up to be a big popular success…
“It’s a great popular success. I can tell you that we know, thanks to pre-sold tickets, that there is already a larger audience than last year. “
Is this linked to the fact that the Grand Prix takes place over four days?
“I’m not sure it was done on purpose; we are not the ones who place Ascension Thursday...
It happened like that and I'm not convinced that it was Ascension Thursday which brought in the extra public. I think this one came earlier, but I think there would have been just as many people there if it hadn't. What probably played a little role was the weather which was rather pleasant, but in any case sales were already at a clearly higher level than last year, a month ago. And a month ago, no one knew the weather.
I therefore believe that, overall, it is a strong upward trend, which perhaps also benefits from additional positive parameters, but these are only marginal parameters. The strong trend is in any case upwards. “
In this upward trend, we are obliged to talk about the initiative of broadcasting the Grand Prix on a public channel. Can you enlighten us on who is behind this initiative?
“No, because the Federation has nothing to do with it. But we note that a mainstream channel, Team 21, has begun, notably through the Federation, which supported the production of various broadcasts of reports, to realize that the results of the motorcycle were very good. So much so that today, Team 21 covers the entire Motocross World Championship. For fans of the discipline, it’s an event! And obviously, in the audiovisual sector, we are starting to say that, ultimately, motorcycles are not bad, in terms of market share.
So perhaps that's what decided the people from France Télévisions to come back, because you have to remember that they were present at the motorcycle Grands Prix at the beginning of the 2000s. At the time, it wasn't was a great success in terms of ratings. I remember that the schedule had been changed accordingly and that in the end, you had to get up at six or seven in the morning to see a Grand Prix that had taken place the evening before. There was no longer any question of putting them in high audience time slots.
This initiative is therefore positive because it will allow some people to discover motorcycle sport, but it will not fundamentally change the perception of motorcycle sport that the French have; you should not expect miracles. NT1 did it for two or three seasons, and they stopped. I guess it's not because they had too many viewers...
Let's be clear ; since I've been here, I've constantly spent my time responding to people who ask me "but how come there aren't more televisions?" It’s a spectacular sport, compared to Formula 1, etc.” And I tell them “it's simply because there aren't enough viewers, the market shares aren't good. » The television channels only ask for that, to put on a product that generates ratings. “
If we now look at the other end of the pyramid, that of accession to motorcycle sport, are experiences like those of the traveling school, or the launch of the Pre-GP category within of the French Championship, are there successes?
" Yes. The traveling school works well. We created this because there is obviously a strong demand; every time the school moves somewhere, there are many young and very young people, girls and boys, who are there. We are therefore going to develop this because it works well, to the point that today, there is a structure in Le Creusot, which has taken the decision to transform itself into a permanent structure. Both times the school visited them it was a great success, with many more requests than could be accommodated. So they said to themselves that they were going to try to transform these tests and make the school permanent. So if we arrive, by demonstrating that there is potential, and behind it, an economic model, we could have a few schools spread across the territory. Let's say three or four at first. Knowing, let's be clear, that if in Motocross it works so well today in France, it is because the network is departmental, even cantonal; wherever you are in France, you have a Motocross field or club within a 20 kilometer radius of your home! We are far from it for speed circuits, even counting the small circuits which can accommodate operations such as the traveling school…”
Let's now come to the entry categories for the French Championship, Pre-GP and Pre-Moto3, depending on age. A first test took place. Is it a success?
“We considered that if we started a first year with around fifteen participants, it would be a success. This is currently the case. We therefore did not expect a tidal wave, especially since false information was spread on social networks, according to which the Championship would not take place! We therefore lost a few competitors but I think that in the long term, there is a potential of twenty or twenty-five for next year.
Remember that we are talking here about real racing motorcycles, not production motorcycles, which are both very affordable and very easy to maintain. They are, certainly, simplified, basic racing motorcycles, but racing motorcycles nonetheless. However, the more we move towards “elitism”, by definition the fewer people we reach. But we had to have something, since there was clearly a hole to fill and I think we filled it. “
At the end of this interview, it appears to us that speed motorcycle sport is in a good trend in France. Certainly, we are not close to reaching the Italian or Spanish figures, countries in which the motorcycle is still deeply anchored in the genes of their populations, but, today in France, we can relatively easily access the speed motorcycle to try his luck at emerging at the top of the pyramid. And a little more than yesterday!
In these times, this already represents excellent news.
And if the public is more there, as was the case during this French Grand Prix, there is no doubt that the media and commercial circles will not let this market pass, which ultimately can only be beneficial for the sport itself.
With all our thanks to Mr. Jaques Bolle, President of the French Motorcycling Federation.
Photo: DR
