The exceptional length of the summer break gives us time to draw up initial assessments, starting with that carried out with Sébastien Poirier, President of the French Motorcycling Federation, on the subject of French speed, in its broadest sense expression.
New measures to promote the development of labeled schools, as well as well-defined competition levels from the base to the top, but also influence the success of fabio quartararo and notable extension of wildcards to link national and international, French speed is accelerating the pace...
Mr. President, after analyzing the exceptional situation in which we found ourselves for two years last year, several measures were taken to promote motorcycle sport and motorcycle leisure in France. They were presented at the press conference last February and are characterized by the promotion and development of labeled schools, as well as well-defined levels of competition from the base to the top. In the middle of the sporting season where many events have already taken place, can we have a first look back?
Sébastien Poirier : “What I can already tell you is that the first part of our 2020–2024 program concerned certified schools. It was a very important subject because it was about being able to identify which structures had an appetite for welcoming young and old, and in any case new practitioners. We had around forty labeled schools a few years ago, and today we have more than 120 labeled schools. We have established a new rule, new specifications, and I believe that we have launched a new dynamic. We have also structured our capacity to control and manage the networks of labeled schools and I sincerely and objectively think that we can hope to be around 150 labeled schools at the end of this year. What is interesting is that we also looked for new structures. As proof, I want to see what we managed to put in place quickly: we had two schools quickly labeled, today we have around twenty! This means that we have a much larger territorial coverage of speed. This is the first positive result and it will allow, through the dedicated website that we have set up, to offer an easy to access, simple site for all people who would like to find out about “Where to start the motorbike ? How to start motorcycling? Should I buy a motorcycle? Is the equipment integrated? ". So, we are popularizing and democratizing the offer of practice, particularly aimed at young people. This is therefore a very positive first result.
The second aspect, regarding the structuring of the offer, are the karting circuits, particularly for speed. I believe that we have considerable work to do with the karting circuits to, precisely, allow our little ones to drive on this type of local track because today it is extremely complicated for them to drive on big ones. speed circuits. We have around forty speed circuits already approved for motorcycles but there are between 200 and 300 karting circuits. So, it is to the karting circuits that you should go for the first driving laps, especially for the little ones. The FFM has also invested since it hired a Manager who will visit and assess the slopes. We are also on a very good trend in terms of karting tracks: I hope that we will be around a hundred karting tracks by the end of this year, or even 2023. This is real in-depth work. which is carried out, and local work, since we must reassure the karting circuits that we do not make any more noise than a kart, that we do not damage the track when there is has falls, etc.
Regarding the championships that have been launched, we have around ten regional championships that will be organized in 2022, and the first success is the very fact that they exist. Quickly, we had two league championships among the little ones, and today we are at almost ten. Obviously, with a structure that is uniform throughout the territory, that is to say that we have our categories Mini OGP, Objectif Grand Prix, 110, 160 and MiniGP for the Ohvale part which we find at international level. We therefore find these category structures throughout the territory but that does not mean that we cannot integrate other categories, such as the scooter category, but at least we have put Mini in the base of these regional championships. OGP these three flagship categories which are also found at the national level. The first feedback is generally positive even if things are not simple since we are in the process of setting up championships and certain categories only include four or five drivers while others welcome around fifteen. What I believe is that we have to sign up for a long time because we are really in the process of setting up the championships. Today there is a difficulty in supplying motorcycles, particularly mini motorcycles, which is a real obstacle for many parents who are seeking information, but overall it is an implementation that is being done positively, with a lot of effort. optimism, in this first year of this policy of structuring the offer at the regional level. I am optimistic and today we have partners who are following us, like Shark and Motul, on the structuring of the regional pyramid that we find at the national level on the Mini OGP and then on the FSBK.
We should also note the support of Claude Michy, the Promoter of the French Moto Grand Prix, who wanted to get involved with us to help us and help the organizing motorcycle clubs to boost the FSBK, particularly in terms of public attendance.
So overall there is a good implementation and we will make the final assessment in 2024 because I believe that we really need to give ourselves three years before taking stock.
The most important thing, if we want to have champions, is to have a mass of drivers, the widest possible pyramid, and therefore what we are putting in place today is the structuring of this pyramidal base that the we want the broadest possible, the most accessible possible, the easiest in terms of understanding. The objective is to ensure that parents, who have little or no knowledge of the motorcycle industry, can say to themselves “between horse riding and motorcycles, it's just as simple in both federations”. That’s really the point!
I am therefore optimistic, even if we are in the difficult stages of implementation because we are in the first year, but I believe that we really have to plan ahead because we are already running almost double the number of drivers at this level. -there.
We also have this Objective Grand Prix category which we have clearly positioned as being where our best young French riders should be, with bikes which are very close, with a unique electronic box which we will put in place even if supply reasons prevented us from doing so on the first event at Le Mans. It is a box that is identical to that used in Spain, and in the same way, with the tire manufacturer Bridgestone that we have as a partner on the OGP, we will have motorcycles that have an electronic box and identical tires what we have at the level of the European Talent Cup. This means that we will really help our best young people to get used to the machines that are used in the European Talent Cup, which was not necessarily the case in the past, and which could explain why there was such a gap on the first competitions of our French in the European Talent Cup. I am therefore optimistic about fairly rapid results and that is why I am looking forward to seeing our French drivers racing in the European Talent Cup, because I believe that this gap will be largely reduced thanks to these actions which do not than on the motorbike but which will still facilitate their learning of these technical elements to go to Spain. »
With his world title in MotoGP, Fabio Quartararo has taken on another dimension and now reaches a large audience who were not necessarily interested in motorcycling, whether through general public broadcasts or even poster campaigns in Paris. Do you think this could also encourage motorcycling in France?
“In any case, what is certain is that a federation is supported by its champions and by the sporting performances of its best athletes. We see it in rugby, we also see it in football when France wins the World Cup, and we also see it at home. That is to say that today, the motorcycle has taken a step forward and perhaps it has returned to the level of the great period of French motorcycles in the 70s and 80s. It is clear that Fabio's title is a title that allows motorcycling, motorcycle sport and motor sports in general to be valued. Especially because we are lucky to have Fabio and Johann who are truly two sportsmen who express themselves well, who are pleasant, whose enthusiasm and joy of life we feel.
I believe that they perfectly represent the motorcycle, and they represent the motorcycle of tomorrow, one which is a responsible motorcycle, a sports motorcycle because it is a sport like any other, and indeed they do good.
The challenge for us, and that is why we have put in place all these structures and all this reception capacity, is that we must live up to this influence and that our structures are able to welcome the little ones who would dream of being Fabio or J. This is all the work that we are carrying out in parallel with this title, because in fact it would be a shame to miss out on such influence and that we are not able to tell parents “this is where you should go, how much it costs, it doesn’t cost that much, there are educators who will help your child learn to ride a motorcycle in complete safety, and potentially afterwards, if he wants to compete, this is where the competitions are and this is how it is organized.” So this is the work we are doing. »
There were also some new developments regarding wildcards at the international level…
“On the speed discipline, the policy of the FFM in 2022 is to accentuate what we put in place in 2021 in relation to the wildcards, and to ensure that there is a strong link between the French championship and international events. This therefore means wildcards in the 600 Supersport category for the World Superbike at Magny-Cours in partnership with Yamaha and the GMT 94. So two wildcards which will be offered by the federation, Yamaha and the GMT 94 to participate in this Grand event. French Superbike Prize: we double the stake and above all we are on a young wildcard and a wildcard that we would describe as more sporty. It therefore offers the opportunity for our best Supersport riders to be able to try their hand at the World Superbike, and we saw the success encountered last year by Valentine Debise which really allowed through his times on Saturday to demonstrate that the level of the French championship was a very, very good level, since he qualified fourth on Saturday in Superpole.
So that means that it positions a championship, and then especially with the GMT 94 we have the guarantee that there is preparatory work, that is to say that we do not send the pilots who have the wild card on the Superbike without there being at least training and appropriation of the bike: there is work being done in this area.
We also have in 2022, and this is new, a wildcard which will be offered for the 300 category, through the Flembo team. We are lucky to have a French team in the 300 world, so we are going to set up this wild card also on sporting criteria to send one of the best in the category to the 300 wild card. And then in the OGP category, Grand Prix objective, here also support for the best(s), in any case those for whom we consider that they have the capacity to perform fairly quickly and to ensure that this card is positive in their progress, the possibility for a or two wild cards in the European Talent Cup this year as part of the France team, since we have a France team in the European Talent Cup.
There is therefore real consistency with the international level, and we will also really definitively establish the two collectives that we have set up among young people. We have set up two collectives which follow around ten children throughout the year, with two or three courses on circuits with educators, and we are lucky to have Johann zarco as sponsor on this issue and on this collective sector. Johann has already been kind enough to come to one of our courses. That's it, we try to be on all fields, we are perfectly aware that the high level takes a long time, that a champion is part of a learning process which is sometimes complex, and that we have to take the time to ensure that pilots are trained but also men, it is therefore a long-term work with educators who follow them, support them, train them and inform them. »
" Finally, Lorenzo Fellon is supported by the federation for the year 2022 as in 2021. Even if he has had a bit of a difficult learning curve, we believe a lot in him. He has already scored his first points. He is one of those riders that we follow, that we support, and to whom we give all our support, as at the time we helped Fabio Quartararo when he was in Moto3 and Moto2, in a period more difficult: the federation is always there to help those who are in difficulty. Today, we no longer help either Fabio or Johann, because we consider that they have reached a sufficient level which allows them to flourish without the help of the federation. But the objective of the federation is really to be there to help with passages, technical passages, sporting passages, and once they have reached the Grail, they can live their lives as peacefully as possible and that gives us fits perfectly. »
