Carlo Pernat is one of the people in the paddock that we appreciate. Always in a good mood, always approachable, he is always ready to share his vision of things, without tongue in cheek and with his shimmering Italian accent.
And that's pretty good since, with his experience which can be counted in decades, he has his input everywhere, which generally makes him one of the best informed men in the paddock!
We will also soon publish an audio in which he describes his journey to us, but, this time, it is up to our colleagues at GPone that he confided what he saw in his crystal ball at the dawn of the 2018 season.
Here are the extracts that we retained from this first part…
Charles Pernat : “2018 will be more exciting than 2017, I am 100% sure of that. Why do I say this? Because this year Yamaha left the World Championship too early and it's the first time that this has happened. The Yamaha will be in the fight, it has always been a point of reference, its engineers will develop the bike and Valentino and Vinales will be in the game. It will be an exciting year, especially for this reason, then we will see if it there will be other manufacturers who can take a leap forward.”
Who else could fit in the middle of the Ducati-Honda-Yamaha trio?
“Among all, I think it is the Suzuki that has the most expectations, both by having Iannone, both by having the concessions, which will give it an advantage. For KTM it’s still a little early, while Aprilia is looking more towards 2019, but will have to invest more money.”
Among the drivers, who is the favorite?
“Whoever has the number 1 on the fairing is always the favorite for the following year. Marquez showed he knows how to ride his bike properly, and Honda has him to thank for that. I think he will beat Valentino for the number of titles, he is young and still has a long road ahead of him. He will be the man to beat, he is a phenomenon and has acquired great reliability. There is no doubt that he is the favorite.”
Dovizioso among the big boys and Lorenzo in the final exam…
“For Dovizioso, it was not a miracle. He has made a very big leap forward and when that happens, there is no turning back. I am convinced that he will be there for the whole championship, and also that the Ducati will improve again, Gigi has accustomed us to continuous progress. Andrea will also start as one of the favorites, which was not the case this year, and that will make a big difference from a psychological and practical point of view: when you gain security, then you don't give up.
Lorenzo is obliged to win for many reasons: because he is a five-time world champion and is a solid rider, because he is paid a very high figure, because now the Ducati is a good bike, and finally because that he is in his second year. There are four reasons why Lorenzo has to do it, and if he doesn't succeed, I think it will be more his fault than the Ducati's. We no longer talk about the red motorcycle that only shined with Stoner because he was the only one who could ride it. It seems to me that lately Lorenzo has done something good, but he will have to fight for the world championship. If this fails, it would be a lost season and, in any case, I see a difficult reconfirmation of the same figures for 2019.”
Johann Zarco has shown that he often fights with the best…
“Zarco is a strange story, he showed everyone in the face that he is a good rider: he is aggressive, he rides well, and fighting with the front runners in MotoGP is the most difficult thing. He took a leap, or maybe he already was, but none of us had bet on him. A lot will depend on the type of bike they are going to give him, we are not at Formula 1 level yet but we are getting closer, and if you don't have a good bike you can be whoever you want , but you won't get far. The key will be the bike given to him, and with a good tool, he will be in the game. But we're still talking about a driver racing for a satellite team and the second teams are struggling to beat the factories. I don’t expect him to fight for the World Championship, but maybe I’m wrong.”
