Moto3 Exclusive interview with Florian Chiffoleau (Marco Bezzecchi's team leader) “We're really going to have to work hard to stay at the top of the Championship”

Arriving in Montmelo with a 3-point lead in the World Championship over Jorge Martin after the Italian Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi left Barcelona on Sunday evening with a 19-point advantage over Fabio di Giannantonio. His French team leader Florian Chiffoleau, also Technical Director of the Redox PruestelGP team, explains to us here their Catalan weekend which ended much better than it started.

Marco set the ninth fastest time in qualifying, 0.3 behind his second fastest time in free practice. It wasn't very simple, it seems?

“No actually, because during qualifying the track temperature was significantly higher than the previous day and than during FP3 on Saturday morning. So we really struggled to find the right compromise to improve our front grip. In fact, it is essential to find a good balance between the front and the rear. However, during the qualifying session, with a higher temperature, our front grip was significantly lower than that of the rear. »

Did eleventh place in the warm up, 0.6 behind the best time, worry you?

" No. In fact he fell during the warm up, but we knew why. There was a small mistake: he braked a little late and the rear came off, so he lost the front. But we still improved his feeling going forward, whatever one might suppose and despite the fall. Suddenly, I knew what to do for the race, because at least there it was clear. During the race, he was quite happy with the bike. He clearly proved it during the Grand Prix. »

Marco Bezzecchi finished second in the race behind Enea Bastianini, thanks in part to the falls of many of his main rivals for the title. How did he manage to avoid all the pitfalls when he was in the leading group in the middle of a fight?

“He once again ran a very intelligent race. He did not panic at the start of the race, even dropping to twelfth place at the end of the second lap. In fact, we saw in the first third of the race that he was the fastest in sector 1, as well as several laps in a row in sectors 2 and 3. Falls or no falls, he was catching Jorge Martin and Tatsuki Suzuki , whose lead went from 2.7 to 1.5 in the space of a few laps. It was at this moment that Jorge Martin pushed because he saw on his road sign that behind him it was coming back quickly.

“Marco did an intelligent race because he noticed that at the end of the straight Jaume Masia was braking quite aggressively. Marco braked a little earlier, shifted to the outside, and it was thanks to this that he actually avoided the crash. He was very clear-sighted about the way his opponents were driving. »

Marco is now leading the Championship with 19 points ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio and 23 on Jorge Martin. How are you going to manage this advance?

“We will continue to work hard because we realized this weekend that it was really complicated. We were expecting a slightly easier weekend – if I may say so – than at Mugello where we had worked hard to get second place. It actually proved just as difficult in Barcelona as di Giannantonio and Martin pushed hard to be at the level they were at.

“There were a lot of falls, a sign that the pressure was up a notch. In terms of performance, we will really have to work hard to stay at the top of the Championship. »

You test this Wednesday and Thursday. Where and why?

“We test in Aragon for two days because we have to confirm the parts we have tried. With this difficult weekend, we had doubts about certain choices made at the start of the season. These tests therefore aim at confirmation. »

KTM must count firmly on your team in the Championship because Marco Bezzecchi precedes the four Hondas of Fabio di Giannantonio, George Martin, Enea Bastianini and Aron Canet. Does the Austrian manufacturer support you effectively?

“Yes, he supports us. He takes our opinions into account, those of the technical team as well as those of the pilot. KTM supports us because indeed Marco is the first KTM rider, but he also has a very good feeling. His comments are always very precise and it is good for working and confirming developments. »

He is the best KTM rider, but we can also say that he is the only one because the second is still quite far behind (Bezzecchi first with 103 points, Rodrigo sixth with 57).

“Yes, it’s true that behind us there are only Hondas, indeed. »