After bringing Álex Crivillé to the 500 cc world title as team leader in 3, Gilles Bigot now manages the technical part of the team of Xavi Virginie, teammate of the World Championship leader Álex Marquez.
After nine Grands Prix and with ten still to go, we took stock with Gilles of the situation at the middle of the year.
What improvements has the Triumph engine brought to the Moto2 category?
“I would say that at the moment the drivers are starting to understand the character of this engine better, they are managing the power curve better. This management is essential for maximum efficiency, you should not be too aggressive because there is a lot of torque and engine braking. As a result, on certain circuits, the cornering speed is a little slower than with the Honda engine. Then the new rear tire of 200 (introduced for the Jerez GP) larger (especially larger in diameter) and depending on their driving style this disturbed some drivers because to compensate for the height of the rear tire it was necessary to change the the motorcycle's trim, which had an impact on the balance of the motorcycle.
Álex Márquez has won four of the last five Grands Prix. Did something click after the French GP?
“You forget about Jerez, Álex was already strong in testing at Jerez, but his fall caused by that of Remy Gardner in front of him at the exit of the first turn, took away his opportunity to win his first 2019 GP. I think the trigger happened during the GP in Jerez, Le Mans was the confirmation of his form.”
Why do the Kalex clearly dominate, while the KTM are struggling?
“At Kalex it’s always the same people who work on Moto2 and they did tests in 2018 with J.Folger to understand the Triumph engine, so they have more experience than at KTM where there was a change of personnel, which delayed the 2019 project. I think that’s the explanation.”
What is the overall assessment and lessons learned from this first half-season for you?
“It's interesting but more difficult than expected, and although we've already done 9 races, there are still a lot of question marks. During the first tests we had the feeling that there was great potential but for the moment no one has found the magic formula, if there is one, and then Dunlop introduced these big tires a little too early to my opinion because it influenced the dynamics of the bike and we had not yet mastered it.”
What is your assessment for your driver Xavi Virginie, 6th in Jerez and 5th at Le Mans, but sometimes struggling on other tracks?
“Yes, not very well at Mugello where he finished 12th. Then Barcelona not very good in practice and during the failed qualifying 1, where he finished 6th, he appears on our TV screens and he does not really seem comfortable on his bike which led us to review his position. riding the bike for the warm-up. He started very well and found himself 8th in the first lap, this will also be his place at the finish after fighting with Luca Marini and Marcel Schrötter for 6th place. Then comes Assen and a 3rd time in qualifying. Good race because he is fighting with the group in front, it's quite hot, several touches with Augusto Fernández, during the 20th lap at the exit of turn 5, new contact between Xavi and Augusto and this time, Xavi falls.
“At the Sachsenring after a good start he is 5th, on the 13th lap he enters a little wide at the first corner and Tom Lüthi who is behind thinks to take advantage of the situation. But Tom is too fast and hits Xavi who falls again, which makes 3 falls in the race (the first was at the start of the race in Austin caught by Joe Roberts' bike) but 3 falls which are not really of its done. Points lost for him and the team and not good for morale either. Let's hope that for the next events he is spared from this type of incident and that he can finish the races and show his potential.
There are only eight points difference between Álex Márquez and Tom Lüthi. How do you envision the fight between the two in the second part of the season?
“If Álex continues with the same dynamic, he will be a candidate for the title. Tom won the GP in Texas and he is consistent, but to be champion you will have to win races too. The second part of the championship will soon begin: after a reset perhaps we will see other drivers join the fight. Binder was quite fast during the GP at Sachsenring and if the KTM does better, we will have to watch him.”
Photos © Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
