After observing a certain relief at Yamaha, after analyzing the apparent contrast at Ducati, we had the opportunity to take stock with a Honda representative to try to understand the situation at the Tokyo manufacturer.
As usual, the words ofChristophe Bourguignon, technical manager of Cal Crutchlow's motorcycle within the LCR team, are always frank and extremely interesting!
Christophe, hello and congratulations on this time in Sepang. You did a good job...
Christophe Bourguignon: “Yes, we had a good time. From there to saying that we did a good job, that’s something else…”
Anyway! Finishing a few hundredths behind the official Honda top rider is not insignificant, even for someone as modest as you, right?
Christophe Bourguignon: “Yes, yes... Let's say we had a different work plan than them and that allowed us to free Cal for a few runs with new tires while the others were a little more focused on development. But hey, it’s true that it’s always good to take…”
We saw that because of the new Michelin front tire, Yamaha had gone back a bit to return to settings very similar to those of last year; is it the same for you?
Christophe Bourguignon: “I will explain to you my vision of things. Michelin actually made a new front tire which was tested this winter by the test teams. At Sepang, it was available in a single construction, different from that of Valencia, and a single profile, identical to that of Valencia, with different compounds on it. From the outset, this tire allowed Cal, but also the others, to have more confidence on the front, without this apprehension of being able to lose the front when releasing the brake and even on the throttle, all with more grip. In fact, at Michelin, they realized that they had developed their tires perhaps too much depending on the test drivers, so perhaps with a combination of constructions that were not rigid enough and compounds that were a little too soft.
With Cal, we therefore switched to harder compounds but still with the same construction, and which behaved much better. So, loading the front was a bit of a “crisis” reaction to try not to increase the number of falls that everyone was worried about.
In Valencia, loading the front increased the feeling by 5 or 10% when entering a corner, but the apprehension about the maximum angle was still there...
In addition, by changing the settings of the bike, we necessarily lost in other sectors, so it was not a “win-win”, a win-win. It was more of a small “win” and we lost quite a bit (laughs).
Today, we therefore started again with geometry and suspension bases very similar to what we used with the Bridgestones. There are of course small changes, but that's part of the winter tests, finding the best compromises each year with a new motorcycle.
Michelin did a great job, and it was the development we were expecting in the first place. But the manufacturers also had different front tire profiles and constructions to try during these tests at Sepang. With Honda focused on the development of the new bike, we were able to help them test them on the second day and, among the lot, there was one that really stood out above the rest. It was acclaimed by 95% of the pilots who tried it and I think it is likely that this profile will be adopted and available very quickly.
Really, Michelin has done a great job and we are already getting a lot closer to the Bridgestone, even if the latter is still a little bit superior when entering a curve on the brakes. But this is already great!”
Generally speaking, what was your state of mind when you left Sepang?
Christophe Bourguignon: “We have just seen it, we had a big doubt regarding the tires and it has improved a lot, whether in terms of falls or the confidence of the drivers to work. We'll have to confirm that, because we only drove on one circuit, but I think overall it's going in the right direction.
In terms of chassis and engine specifications, it's like at the start of every year, where everyone is experimenting a little.
Electronically, Honda has done a lot of testing and the engineers will be able to work on it, but I think we are a little behind our specifications. Yes. We found ourselves facing problems that we didn't think we would have and a less efficient working tool than what we had in the past.”
Less efficient or, due to its novelty, requiring handling, and therefore time?
Christophe Bourguignon: “I think it's less effective FOR US, because we haven't found the keys yet! We will have to create small computer work tools to save time, for example to take less time to create a map. There, we work two to three hours more every day to do the maps, compared to last year. What was automatic before is no longer so, and we must intervene manually in certain areas; we therefore have a less easy tool to work with, especially as we discover it. Because of this, we are a little late, but without it causing panic…”
In terms of chassis and engine, has your bike received a big upgrade?
Christophe Bourguignon: “For the sake of discretion, we do not want to express ourselves too much on this. Honda's plan has always been to give the satellite teams equipment equal to that of the Repsol team. The objective remains the same for Qatar.”
After these tests at Sepang, how do you see the hierarchy emerging for the start of the season?
Christophe Bourguignon: “The Ducatis seem to be really well developed in terms of electronics. They undoubtedly benefit from the experience of the engineers who took care of the Open in 2014 and 2015. To give you an image, I think that they are perhaps using the software to 90% and that we are perhaps at 70% at the moment. They are going to be competitive, the eight bikes; we saw the times, it’s crazy.”
But how can we explain that old bikes are faster than new ones?
Christophe Bourguignon: “It's a bit surprising but you have to say that someone who has an accomplished bike, a bit like us, can ride with it and doesn't do any development. So he works on it, he refines the suspensions, fine-tunes the chassis settings, chooses the ideal tire pressures, fits a set of new tires and is ready for a lap time.
The factory teams are more in the pattern “we are going to try a more rigid chassis, a less rigid one, an engine with a different specification, etc.”, so after each run it is sometimes a long work stoppage in the boxes. They come out to validate or not, on worn tires, without looking for a time.
We, on the first day, went out with a soft tire and did 30 laps with it while the race was around twenty. We only ran two sets of tires the first day. The next morning, we left on a hard tire because we had to work on the mapping and we didn't want to mix everything up, then there was the Loris problem. We therefore almost never look for a time on soft tires. If we had passed a set or two of soft tires on the first day, Cal might have been two or three, I don't know.
But you should always be wary of this kind of classification. It's like Dani who worked a lot on engines; he didn't put pressure on himself to attack to do a timed lap. So seeing the Ducati satellites where they are allows us to be certain that the factories will be in the game.”
How's Cal?
Christophe Bourguignon: "GOOD. Typical Cal. In a good mood and very very relaxed. With his beard, he was our Robinson Crusoe…”
What are your objectives, given the competition?
Christophe Bourguignon: “The 8 Ducatis, the 4 Yamahas, the Hondas, the Suzukis; it's sure, this year there are people! We're going to have to be good to make a Top 10. Our objective is a little higher, and we're going to have to get into the Top 5. We have to keep this kind of objective, even if we know that it's not going to be easy."
We greatly thank Christophe Bourguignon for his explanations and his point of view, which are always very relevant.
