Fear, bitterness, lack of respect from others, these are concepts that are rarely discussed during a discussion between two people, but almost never in the context of an interview with a World Championship driver!
However, this absolute frankness is one of the facets of Jules cluzel, and he demonstrates it again in this interview where he himself addresses certain very personal subjects.
Rarely have we had so much fun interviewing a pilot, and we hope that you will have as much fun reading his words, broadcast in two parts and that we will end with a little anecdote illustrating the character...
Thanks Jules!
Hello Jules, we're at the Yamaha bLU cRU Camp and it's the first time we've seen each other since the thunderclap of your announcement that the competition was stopping. So this is also an opportunity to ask yourself what motivated this stop while you were still performing well?
« How to say ? Lots of things ! A state of mind, thoughts for several years, repeated injuries also often linked to mistakes by my competitors. All this just makes you a little tired compared to recovering from all these injuries. Fear too, fear of the other. Yes ! Fear of the other. The fear that a driver will fail when braking. Not afraid of falling, but afraid of what other pilots might do. And so with all these mixed feelings, ultimately, well, for me, the right decision was to stop. In fact, I no longer felt safe in the middle of the pack. »
And it’s a decision that took you a long time to make, I imagine?
« Yeah, it's been a few years that I didn't think I'd stop, but I didn't really enjoy it anymore. And I had some difficulties, all the same, in the years with the GMT, where I regularly found myself, and especially in the last year, in the middle of the pack. And the middle of the pack, it hadn't happened to me for years, and I realized that there was no respect in the middle of the pack, and that I didn't feel safe. It's a shame because if we had performed well, I would perhaps have found myself further ahead with drivers with more experience, as was the case for the majority of my Supersport period. So that accelerated the decision to stop. »
So an obviously difficult decision to make, but it's also difficult afterwards: today do you regret it, or do you accept it and tell yourself that it was really the right decision?
« No, I don't regret it, no, not at all! I've already returned to races twice and to the starting grid and all that, and I didn't feel in my place on the starting grid, I didn't feel like I was going back for a race. I wanted to ride, for example at Donington I wanted to ride because I felt and I could be fast, again, but I didn't feel like I was starting the race. In all cases because I also need guarantees, guarantees of having the equipment that allows me to be in front and give my maximum. And above all, if I gave my maximum and found myself in front, it would be taking fewer risks because, automatically, when we are in front, we take fewer risks compared to not finding ourselves in risky situations, with mistakes. from other pilots. So no, I didn't have any regrets, even if I still miss my life as a pilot. My life as an athlete, to prepare myself for a goal and to have this goal of being world champion. I had it until last year. So that was pretty cool and it's something I miss. »
Afterwards, we find you on Canal+, and there you impress us again because you are perfectly at ease, you know all the names of the riders and their careers, even in moto 3. Is it a lot of work to prepare for that?
« Yes, we still had to work, because it's true that Moto3 is a category that changes almost every year because there are young people arriving. And I had moved on to something else for a few years, my last Grand Prix race was in 2011. It's true that after that I left for the Superbike championship, I always followed the Moto3 races. and Moto2, but by far. And finally over the last few years, things have changed quite a bit, I think, especially Moto3. I had to get back into it, so I had to work anyway, and it's cool because it put me in a slightly different state of mind. I was a little bit put, not in danger, but it's something I didn't know: you're in front of the general public after all, you're judged! And I wanted to do it well, so I had to put a little stress on myself, and this stress can also be a bit of stress similar to starting a race. Am I going to be good enough? And I really liked that, I put myself in danger a little, and ultimately, well, I don't know if I was good enough but I gave my best and I got positive feedback. Afterwards, you always get negative feedback too but that’s part of the thing. I liked that. And above all, one important thing is that I liked experiencing the races this way, and that's something where it was the same: it's been a while since I had much fun on the racing weekends, not particularly fun watching others, other races, other categories, because I always had this slightly bitter side, you know, of certain drivers where I thought I was better than them, but who had other possibilities. And finally, with Canal Plus, I was rather positive about everyone and I liked experiencing the race from that side, because ultimately, yeah, I saw more of the positive side of the race. »
So it’s a positive experience, and you go back to that side as soon as you can…
« Yes if possible. Afterwards, there is a current team. There, I was a replacement until Silverstone: it's my next and last race of the year. There it was, it was a race and it ended up being a five. I'm happy with that. This is a great transition opportunity for me and I will try to progress in this area as well. Afterwards, what will this lead to? I don't know, but for now I tried to give my best on that too. »
To be continued…
