Following thefire which destroyed all MotoE installations last night in Jerez, we wanted to take stock with Hervé Poncharal who both fields 2 motorcycles in this competition, and is particularly well informed, due to his role as president of the IRTA.
As you will read, a particularly marked trait of these men present in the paddock is to be above all competitors, to never feel sorry for themselves, and to always, and immediately, look forward. …
Hervé Poncharal, like all the teams present at this MotoE test in Jerez, you lost all your equipment. What do you feel ?
Hervé Poncharal : “First of all, I want to make it clear that it is a huge relief to know that no one was physically affected. There were no injuries, and that is by far the most important thing. This relieved us all because, obviously, we all saw the images and videos broadcast on the Internet, and before having reassuring and 100% reliable information, we were all worried. That's the first thing, and it's very, very important because even if it's a bad move that will impact the championship in a relatively significant way, it's still just material.
What I can say, clearly and firmly, that is to say 100%, is that the will of Dorna, Energica, Enel and all the teams involved is: “we want to ride MotoE in 2019”, and it has been confirmed to us by all the stakeholders that the MotoE Cup will take place in 2019. One thing is certain, it is that there are still a lot of questions today, so I cannot be affirmative about when, how and where. On the other hand, there is today a police investigation to determine the exact causes of this fire. There's a whole bunch of speculation and I won't go into it. As usual, the people who speak first are not necessarily the best informed, so let's let the specialists from Enel, Energica and the people who supervise the championship work with the investigators, and we will know relatively soon the real cause.
I don't really know what happened, but regarding the electric vehicle which is set to take off and become a much more popular vehicle in the years to come, the charging of batteries, and the rapid charging of batteries, is one of the biggest problems. There is also autonomy but if we manage to charge relatively quickly, this will increase. Enel and Energica are at the forefront in this area, and so they are testing. I don't know what happened but thanks to the investigation by the technicians and the police, we will know exactly what happened, because something must have happened anyway.
Obviously, afterwards, there will be discussions with the insurers of the different parties in place. It is certain that today everything, we can say that everything has been lost. Under this huge tent which was ultimately the entire MotoE paddock, with the offices and boxes of all the teams entered, there were the motorcycles, the tools, the riders' belongings, the teams' computer equipment, stocks of spare parts, chargers, etc., all guarded by a security service. Everything is gone.
Today, it is certain that the test which was planned for April in Jerez will not take place, just like the race which was to take place during the Spanish Grand Prix at the beginning of May. There are strong presumptions that the championship is not ready either for the 2nd event which was scheduled for the French Grand Prix. For Jerez, it is 100% sure, and for Le Mans, there is not yet a 100% position but we can say that it is very, very complicated to consider it. In any case, it has been decided that a 3-day test session will take place before the first MotoE event. That's clear.
Afterwards, we are thinking... Obviously, Energica can put enough personnel to reassemble motorcycles within about a month and a half, but there remain a lot of questions about subcontractors and external suppliers, this which prevents us from positioning ourselves today. This concerns, for example, batteries, Dell'Orto, manufacturers of brakes, chassis and fairings. These are things that we have not yet mastered today.
We gave ourselves a fortnight for everything to be 100% fixed regarding future dates.
In any case, frankly, it was a great sadness this morning, because the first day had gone very well. I spoke to my team and my drivers Kenny Foray and Héctor Garzo, and everyone was happy to continue discovering and learning how to manage and operate this equipment. If Kenny did his time with a not fully charged battery, Héctor was able to do the 3rd time and everyone was motivated to implement new ideas today. And I think it's the same for the other teams: the state of mind is positive and the desire to continue working is very real.
So it's a real shame because everything was on track and working well, and we can say that it's a hard blow of fate, but we have to put it into perspective: the bikes are working well, the riders are having fun and so are the technicians. Energica, who are undoubtedly the people most affected because they lost around twenty motorcycles and it is still a small company in the making, to be completely demoralized. On the contrary, according to what Nicolas Goubert, the manager of this championship, with whom I have just spoken, told me, they are the first to want to move forward. So a twist of fate, yes, but never give up! »
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