In view of the World Endurance Championship which he will compete with Freddy Foray, Josh Hook and the FCC TSR Honda France team, Mike went to the Circuit Paul Ricard to prepare for the next Bol d'Or. At the same time, he won on an electric motorcycle at the Red Bull Ring, taking the lead in the World Cup.
We took stock with the Toulouse 125 cm3 World Champion from 2008 and now magnificently converted.
How did the pre-Bowl tests for you, Freddy Foray, Josh Hook and the FCC TSR Honda France team?
“They went well. We switched back to 24 Hour configuration and worked a lot to prepare for the race. We improved our racing pace well over these two days. »
“We mainly worked in racing mode. We have seen that some of our competitors like YART extension and the SRC Kawasaki had managed to set good times, but we did not know exactly what configurations they were in. »
“In terms of race pace, we were pretty much in the fight and I think it's going to be another close 24-hour race like we've seen for a few years. We have a homogeneous field with several teams who stand together and fight for victory. »
The other Honda, #111, is not going to race. Is this an advantage for you since it allows you to concentrate the Honda endurance budget on a single motorcycle, or is it a disadvantage because there is only one crew left to test the new features and put the bike on on point ?
“As for the budget, I have no idea, we’re not the ones who take care of that. »
“Otherwise, it won’t change anything because the 111 was fighting against us, like the other teams. It is certainly a shame that we have one less team to have more fight, but there are still many other quality teams to ensure a good and exciting show. »
What do you think of the big return of Michelin (including in Superstock Moto Ain and LMD63, and in EWC Tecmas and JEG-Kagayama)?
“It’s always good to have a lot of tire manufacturers involved. It makes it possible to develop even better tires for the trade, so it's much better. »
“The MotoGP World Championship and our MotoE World Cup have an exclusive manufacturer. In endurance, we are the only World Championship in which several manufacturers participate. It allows you to evolve and do a lot of development. »
Do you personally prefer that there be only one manufacturer for a championship, or several?
“When it comes to electric motorcycle racing, it's always better to have just one. But in a championship like endurance, it is preferable that there are several because it is something more. This allows us to have better performance. »
Congratulations on your MotoE victory in Austria in the second race. So here you are, leader of the World Cup, which takes place at the same time as the Grands Prix. Is the weight of the motorcycle a problem?
" No not at all. You don't feel it. »
In terms of driving, what are the main differences with a thermal engine machine?
“It’s exactly the same. It rides like a motorcycle. You have to know how to adapt and find solutions to the concerns you have. Compared to other bikes, we are a little more limited in terms of settings because it is a one-make cut, so they wanted to try not to have too large a range of possible settings, but rather stay close to the basic settings. . »
“In MotoE, the rider has to question himself much more than when he has a normal motorcycle. »
What's the nicest, most enjoyable thing about this electric category?
“Let us all have the same motorcycle. If there is one who is better, we try to understand why and reflect to see what he does better compared to us, in order to then get there too. »
Photos © motogp.com / Dorna and TSR