On a very regular basis, and for two years now, Hervé Poncharal has done us the honor of sharing his point of view with us after each Grand Prix (See here).
Listening to his words, which are the fruit of 40 years of experience, is always a pleasure, especially since the man does not have his tongue in his pocket. We thus share with you his emotions, which can fluctuate throughout the trials from disappointment to the greatest joys, without obscuring the small passing gnashing of teeth or, on the contrary, the flights which go well beyond sport...
And we thank him greatly!
Hervé Poncharal, we imagine that the Tech3 team manager left Argentina very satisfied with the results of his drivers, but how did the president of the IRTA experience this somewhat crazy Sunday?
“It’s true that it was a crazy Grand Prix, as is often the case when it happens in very uncertain weather conditions. We expected it, all week we were faced with this, and we told ourselves that it was going to be complicated to manage. On a technical level, as there are no longer any intermediate tires, you really couldn't make a mistake with the choice of rubber. When we saw the Moto2 race which took place on slicks on a drying track and the temperature was rising, we thought we were safe for the MotoGP, and unfortunately, as is often the case in these cases when the weather is unstable , a few small drops fell. We therefore found ourselves in a situation which has already happened but which is very difficult to manage. On the grid, the drops arrive, the reflection turns to the choice of tires, and at a given moment, I think that the Race Direction made the right decision, that is to say to delay the start, of course by informing all the team managers concerned. In these cases, it is often the door open to controversy and various suggestions from both sides. But in the end, there are regulations, and in cases of force majeure like that, there is the procedure called Quick Restart which exists. We return to the box, we leave to do a reconnaissance lap, there is only a mechanic to show the drivers his place on the grid, then there is the warm-up lap and the start. What added a little spice to all this was that Marc stalled on the grid. Two IRTA staff, they were not commissioners as I read, waved him off. In these cases, there is pressure, it's the start, everyone is on the grid, the engines can heat up, the tires can cool down, the race has to start... they saw that Marc didn't understand not. I think there is a minimum of honesty in Marc's case, he didn't quite understand, and with the adrenaline "I want to leave, I want to leave", he made a mistake. He shouldn't have, it was a bit borderline and he should have gone out, but I think that when you are a competitor and you are so involved and in your bubble at the start, you can do things that afterwards, with hindsight and in somewhat calmer circumstances, we wonder why we made them.
So. The 2 people from IRTA left the grid, Marc got back on the grid, the start was given quickly enough so that the tires did not cool down too much. And then the Race Direction, in a completely normal and fair manner, gave Marc a ride through. Once he's boarded, he has 5 turns to do it and he did it right away, which showed that seeing the message on his scoreboard and remembering what he did, he understood. Once again, it's always easier to judge when you're behind your TV screen or behind the wall than when you're on the track. In my opinion, we should not add more to this controversy. He was penalized and that's it. I think everyone did their job as best as possible, and even Jack Miller, who could have been more bitter, because he was perhaps the most penalized, said that it was completely normal and gave his discharge and 100% support for everything that had been done by the Race Direction.
Afterwards, you may ask me what I think of the incident between Marquez and Rossi. In any case, as far as the departure procedure is concerned, it may have appeared as a little mess from the outside but we did the best we could. And somewhere, I was going to say that this also shows that we are humans and that an ideal world will never exist. A world where there is never a small grain of sand in well-oiled cogs will never exist. So when everything is going normally, it's a beautiful machine that runs smoothly, but then there are things that require you to react urgently, there's pressure and there's pressure. human. There are obviously people who try to take advantage of a situation that could perhaps benefit them, and we have to manage all that, with the pressure of time because there are TV slots and there is a bit of professionalism. to have. So yes, we could always say that things could have been done a little better with a little less stress, but when you put heart into what you do and try to answer all the questions, it may seem a little less square than it could be, but that's what keeps it a sport, and in MotoGP we have always put sport first. We are driven by our desire to do well, to put on a show that is beautiful to see but above all that is performed in optimal safety conditions. This will always remain the leitmotif and the absolute priority.”
As you have given us the pole, we will immediately get rid of all the little questions, which are not necessarily very pleasant, both for the drivers themselves and for the spectators, concerning the controversies.
Regarding Marc Marquez, isn't the general opinion of the paddock professionals that he did too much and that, given his level of performance, there was no real reason to be as frantic as was he?
To be continued…
