When PaddockGP visited Cartagena last December for the private tests organized by Johann Zarco, we had the chance to talk to many French drivers. Among them, Ludovic Rizza, a driver with an atypical career who competes in the French Superbike Championship.
A rider in FSBK and Endurance, team boss and full-time worker outside of motorcycle racing, Ludovic Rizza alternates roles to allow himself to finance his seasons in motorcycle racing. Aged 32, he started racing when he was 22, to pursue a dream that he had not been able to achieve when he was younger, due to lack of means.
During our discussions, he talks about his resourcefulness and the solutions he found to become a motorcycle rider, fighting against financial limitations and criticism about his age.
Hello Ludovic Rizza! We can say that of all the drivers who ride here in Cartagena, you are the one with the most abnormal career path… Can you explain it to us?
Passionate about competition since I was little, I never missed the Grand Prix on TV. Today, I am 32 years old, so it has been ten years since I started. In 2014, I participated in trackdays on my own. I was not lucky enough to have parents who could support me in my approach, so I bought a CB500 with what I had. By adding a few expenses on top, we had a bike to do the Promosport 500 Cup. It allowed us to ride with not much means and to get started in racing.
Despite being old enough to start competing, you didn't just want to ride a motorbike.
I really wanted to measure myself against the others, so I competed in this championship for two years in a row, before moving on to the more expensive 600. From 2016 to 2019, I only did a few races per season. I was finding myself professionally, while I was obsessed with this need to ride a motorbike. Once my professional situation stabilized, I took a step forward. In 2020, after a season on the sidelines due to an injury, I was finally able to ride a new bike. I had bought a Yamaha. In Promosport, I took all the poles, I rode really well, and I won the 600 title. That allowed me to unlock assistance from Yamaha for the following season in 1000, with an R1. And I won the title straight away. That opened a lot of doors for me, including Endurance.
Endurance, but also Superbike?
Yes, I started Superbike. The logical next step. I got an exemption for the challenger category, which is limited to over 28 years old. I was already 29, but I explained that I hadn't had the chance to start early. This allows you to have access to manufacturer bonuses, without having to face the same general classification as riders who have been there for fifteen years, and supported by official structures.
You also set up your own team.
I had to think of a way to finance a full season in Superbike. To be transparent, that requires a budget of 80 to 000 euros. How to do it? I had already gotten on quite well with François Speck, because I had been using EMC shock absorbers since I started. He wanted me to represent the brand in Superbike. Now, he is the team's number one sponsor. He provides us with all the tires, and with this less budget to have to find, it reduces the need. So we bought our furniture and hired mechanics. The team has been operating in Superbike for two years.
In 2024, have you taken another step forward with Honda?
In the middle of the year, I had the opportunity to join a Honda program. Since the summer, Yamaha's support had considerably weakened, I wanted to go for another solution. Over the weeks, things came together so that I could participate in the final with a Honda. During this final, I met the brand's managers to establish a dialogue, and they appreciated my approach. They liked that I bought my bike without asking them anything in advance, and so the EMC development team will ride with Honda next year. We got two bikes, and a huge amount of help. With the team that has established itself in World Supersport, we are also invited to Trackdays. Here, we are invited with Johann. For me, who manages my team, with a hundred people who follow me, and thirty who sponsor me, to join forces with Johann Zarco, that makes me serious.
Is riding with Johann Zarco an extra motivation?
Yes, especially in my case. Before being a competitor, I am a motorbike fan. Johann, I watched him in 2007 when he was doing the Rookies Cup. Besides, I struggled when I moved to Superbike in 2022, because I looked at the others with respect. I had to tell myself: 'come on, you're here, do the thing'. But yes, it's galvanizing to see that people are trying to pull us up. It teaches me a lot of things. And above all, I'm having a great time.
Will Honda's support bring you a lot?
Yes, it will be good. Especially since I have recovered competent people to surround me. I have improved the structure thanks to the funding that I received. It is a private structure, but a structure that has little to envy the others. It is coming together well, and the goal next year will be to regularly integrate the top-8 in Superbike. The first six or eight, and then continue our path in Superbike. It is really cool to feel supported by the brands, and to be able to be invited to days like this. At one point, I had imposter syndrome, having started late. It is not really the lack of experience that scared me, but what people told me. Age is not limiting for me. What is limiting is my ability to maintain a good group of partners to finance my years. Age, I don't care.
I think you work full time on the side. Isn't that too much?
It was too much, but since this year, I've been reaping the fruits of my work. Combining Endurance, Superbike, work, and the structure, it was too complicated. With my mechanic, Anthony, we put things in place to relieve me, and to concentrate on my task as a rider.
And what about Endurance?
That remains to be seen. I'm not sure yet. It's been a real ordeal to get a structure up and running. So I don't know yet if I'll do it next year. The schedule is really tight. If I do the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I go home on Monday, 800km away, and on Tuesday I go to work. And from the Thursday of the following week, I'll have to be somewhere else for the Superbike. That, plus the mental load, I'm telling myself that I should maybe put Endurance on hold. I'll see what opportunities are available to me, but I can still bite my lip on that.
