It was in 2015 that the Belgian team EG 0,0 Marc VDS made its debut in MotoGP with Honda and Scott Redding, before benefiting for the following three years from the official presence of Jack Miller, who had for three years a a factory Honda and remuneration from Japan.
The situation changed in 2018 with the departure of Miller at Pramac, and that of the official Honda for Cal Crutchlow at LCR. Michael Bartholémy therefore plans to find a more interesting partnership for 2019. For KTM, it's too late, Tech3 has already been there. For Aprilia, the bike is not necessarily competitive, and Romano Albesiano does not really want to equip a satellite team yet. At Suzuki, much more energy is spent on making the bike competitive than on equipping a satellite team. At Ducati, Pramac is the junior team, and will remain so for a long time. It therefore remains essentially Yamaha.
Do you regret Poncharal landing the KTM deal?
“Yes, because the KTM contract would have been interesting. But it is now too late. I never thought that Hervé would decide so quickly and that the agreement would be sealed in January or February. »
Yamaha does not yet have a MotoGP satellite team for 2019, as Tech3 moves to KTM for three years. You have always called Yamaha the second best solution outside of Honda. Is a change planned?
“Yes, to be honest, we have already spoken with Yamaha by phone and exchanged a few emails. If I hadn't done that, I would have overlooked a good bike. »
“But we also talk to Honda. Since Alberto Puig has been here, things have become positive there. He is straight. He asks for our plans and intentions and suggests : “We can have a motorbike for you”. He speaks simply, as he should.
I told him: I would like to make the material decision in March or April. We will talk about it in Qatar. »
At Honda you are number 3 behind Repsol and LCR, at Yamaha you can be number 2 in 2019. But eventually Rossi could come with his own Yamaha MotoGP team. So you need at least a two-year contract?
“I spoke to team owner Marc van der Straten on Tuesday. And now that we have some options on the table, we're definitely going to demand a three-year contract from 2019 to 2021 moving forward. »
You can choose between Yamaha and Honda. Are we also talking about Aprilia and Suzuki?
“Suzuki is definitely still in question. We spoke to Suzuki a while ago. The package they offer is sexy, it's similar to Tech 3 and KTM.
“We will decide between these three brands. We'll see what the best deal is. It depends on the personnel provided by the factory, and the support regarding the electronics. A private team cannot do this work alone, they need the factory engineers. »
You were upset last year because HRC wouldn't let you have Miller's equipment that was transferred with his team leader Aurin to Nakagami at LCR. Is this boredom over?
“No, no, the problem is still there. This posture actually hurt me. I still think Jack Miller is the best rider for a satellite team, he is still young at 23, but he has three years of MotoGP experience, he is fast. We had a lot of marketing with him, but unfortunately he went to Ducati because he wouldn't have had a 2018 bike at Honda.
“Honda should find something sexy for the next few years. I'm curious to know what they will offer me. »
If Rossi creates his own Yamaha team in 2020 or 2021, should Yamaha form a third MotoGP team – like in 2014 and 2015 with Forward?
" Yes I think so. Rossi could equip a first and second year MotoGP rider. So five motorcycles would be imaginable. This would suit Yamaha I think.
“We want a three-year contract, which we will be happy with. We don't watch Rossi. Valentino will do what he wants. »
Photos © EG 0,0 Marc VDS
source: speedweek
