Here is Hervé Poncharal's first immediate reaction following the announcement of Jonas Folger's withdrawal in 2018 (see here).
We thank him greatly for taking these few moments to share his emotion with us while his phone kept ringing with calls from pilots and managers...
Hervé, the bad news of Jonas Folger's withdrawal surprised and saddened everyone at the Grands Prix because we can well imagine the drama for him and, eight days before the first tests at Sepang, the difficult situation for you...
Hervé Poncharal : " Yes ! When I got that call from Bob Moore, I was literally petrified. I really didn't expect that. I knew that Jonas was working hard to get back to his best level, I had spoken to him about ten days ago and he had sent me photos of him skiing, and he told me that, between skiing and the gym, he was in great physical shape and he was counting the days that separated him from Sepang. And then, unfortunately: when Bob called me, I didn't understand at first before having to face the facts.
I had the chance to speak to Jonas Folger today and he told me that he was totally devastated and sorry, and that he had thought it through, knowing full well what that meant. I told him “Jonas, you know, if we release this information, it’s over for 2018 anyway and that seriously jeopardizes the rest of your sporting career”. He told me that he knew but that he had thought about it carefully and that he did not feel capable of riding at his maximum, knowing the expectations and the level of the Yamaha M1 and Tech3. He doesn't feel capable of it. Personally, my analysis is that the problem is above all mental. When I spoke to him on the phone, he convinced himself that everything was fine because physically he was fine. But he has an insurance problem in his head, and seeing the deadline approaching, he doesn't feel capable.
Not able to face the level of demands demanded by a MotoGP season?
" Yes. Afterwards, when you talk a little bit with him, you feel that he doesn't feel capable of being at a mental level and being sharp enough to master everything. He knows how hard it is, mentally and physically, to give everything to be able to ride a MotoGP at full speed. And he told me that if he did so, he would risk being a danger to himself and to others. That for all these reasons, he asks us to understand him, which we obviously do.
For sure it's even more of a problem for him than for us because he finally had the team he dreamed of, he had finally reached the MotoGP category, which was his dream and he saw that he was competitive and that he could fight in front. Abandoning all that is somehow honest and courageous of him. It's true that this puts us in a situation, if not catastrophic, in any case very complicated. Very complicated because we know that all the riders who have a sufficient level to be able to be competitive in MotoGP are all already signed, and there is no question of stripping anyone because we have a problem. So it's a real problem for us, and quite honestly, at the moment, I don't know what's going to happen.
Since last night, we have been constantly brainstorming. I spent a sleepless night because it was a big shock for me: I also really liked the man. I believed a lot in the pilot but I also loved the man Folger, and since I always found him a little lost, I wanted to be his big brother or his “professional father”. I felt that he was always a bit like a frightened animal. He avoided human contact a lot when there were a lot of people in the hospital. He didn't like things that put pressure on him and was very often in his motor home, quiet, with his cousin and his girlfriend. That's where he was best. We felt that he was someone very mentally fragile, and for me it's a big waste because it's clear that he is both an excellent driver and a beautiful person.
Either way, one thing is certain: it's a bad blow for him and for us. But in this job, you always have to stay positive and always keep the fighting spirit. We're not going to find another Folger because right now it's impossible, but we're going to think about it. We're going to motivate ourselves and we're going to try to find another driver who will allow us to have a great 2018 season. It's clear that in any case, our leader is Johann Zarco, that's obvious. He will be the undisputed leader and the ideal for me would be to have a young man alongside him, even if all the young rookies are already signed. In any case, we are not giving up! It's bad news and a bad time, but we're going to fight! »
