The press conference of the French Motorcycling Federation relating to the future of the speed discipline was held this Tuesday, October 12 under the name "LET'S WRITE THE FUTURE OF FRENCH SPEED TOGETHER" in front of almost the entire French motorcycle world. , Canal+ and AFP included.
Si Johann zarco et Claude Michy will undoubtedly be the visible part of this iceberg for the general public, one as a sponsor, the other as an expert on the French FSBK – FE Championship, it was above all the opportunity for Mr. Sébastien Poirier, President of the French Motorcycling Federation and Mr. Patrick Coutant, President of the National Speed Commission, to present the challenges and prospects of the speed course which will be implemented from 2022 before shedding light on its future actions.
The restructuring of French speed is profound and will be spread over at least two years, but the project is already defined for opening to the greatest number, a simplification of the proposed route and an upgrade of the latter by compared to the foreign reference offer.
We will return to this action plan in detail but, in the meantime, here are the different themes covered:
- An evolution of the speed course which will be established in 4 stages. The objective is to support young riders from initiation, via French motorcycling schools, to the high level,
- The development of certified schools in order to develop access to the practice of motorcycle sport,
- The development of local practice sites by offering activities on karting circuits,
- The development of the League Championships from 2022,
- The revitalization of the French speed sector,
- The French Objectif Grand Prix Championship (OGP) is positioned as the antechamber of the European Talent Cup. The aim is to support and facilitate the transition of our young hopefuls to the international level. Significant changes to the OGP regulations will be proposed with the arrival of Bridgestone as the exclusive tire partner of the French Objectif Grand Prix Championship for 2 years.
We will return in detail to each of these stages which, taken together, offer a clear trajectory for those who aspire to join their prestigious elders who are currently shining in the firmament of world speed.
Sébastien Poirier in front of the motorcycle industry and the press: “ I hope that in this overall project, in this coherent project, which is part of a long term, we succeed in bringing together a shared project and that we can be supported to ensure that the entire French sports sector, including including the French industrial sector associated with motor sports, is found in this project. It is a project which is not an FFM project, it is a project which aims to be aimed at the whole country, towards France, and we are trying to carry it, but to carry it together. This is the meaning of a federation, it is to unite but it is also to unite around projects. Very clearly, we want and we will try to sell you our project to ensure that you participate and that you are present alongside us in order to be able to have French champions tomorrow who will come and leave this pyramid. There is no miracle recipe, it's a lot of investment, a lot of work, a lot of money, especially in motor sports. I believe in this overall structure, this work carried out. We managed to do the job at the level of our federal authorities, since today we are going for eight league championships, which is totally exceptional in speed compared to last year. We are hopeful of arriving at a league championship per metropolitan region by the end of 2024. We have 13 regions and that is really the objective. I am very happy with the work that has been done over the last few months because it allows us to offer proximity, to offer an internal project, and I hope for champions tomorrow. It's consistent, it's globalized, there are categories that have been redesigned, which are much simpler for drivers to get to grips with. So I believe in it, but very clearly, as Claude (Michy) said, we are all on the same boat and we, the federation, cannot do anything alone. We will not be able to create a MotoGP team, we will not be able to create a Moto3 team, but on the other hand, all together, we will be able to unite around riders that we will have trained and around projects that we will have developed together. I'm counting on you, I'm counting on us, but we are entirely responsible for this success linked to this new sector! »
