As we systematically do in winter, we took advantage of this long, very long, summer break to ask a certain number of speakers from the MotoGP paddock to take stock of this first half-season of 2021.
To all lord all honor, it is Hervé Poncharal, both president of IRTA and co-owner of the Tech3 team, which inaugurates this summer series.
You can find the first part of this interview here
You can find the second part of this interview here
The next two races will take place in Austria. Can we expect an announcement regarding your team's second driver in 2022?
Hervé Poncharal : " We all know that Raúl Fernández is on the list of many team managers and teams. He wants to know what he is going to do next so he can really focus on his year 2021, where he is still in the race for the title despite everything. Initially, when he moved up to Moto2 last year, a lot of people said it was too early and that he should do another year in Moto3. So obviously, it was out of the question to imagine that the following year he would go to MotoGP, and the plan was to do 2021 and 2022 in Moto2. He has a firm contract for that. Given the performances he is doing, given that despite everything he is still in a position today to be titled, and given that many people have come to see him, his parents, his managers, the appetite comes eating... And today, even if it wasn't the initial plan, I think in his head 50% of him says "stay in Moto2 again" and 50% says "why not go all right now ? Because in Moto2, yes, I am at the level: I already take pole almost every Sunday and I fight for the podium or the race victory every Sunday. So stay another year, what else am I going to do? Maybe the title if Remy gets it this year and I finish second, but isn't it more important to move up to MotoGP to have an extra year of experience?
When we left in Assen, there was this reflection which was his and those around him, and we said that the summer break which is relatively long this year would bring advice, and that a decision would be taken upon return , that is to say for the Austrian Grand Prix. So it could be Remy/Lecuona, Remy/Petrucci or Remy/Fernández. Today the three options are on the table and everyone is thinking about the best solution by listening to the pilots. Obviously, the two current riders want to stay in MotoGP, but you have to know what Raúl wants to do. You have to listen to him carefully and not force him to skip the steps if he doesn't want to skip them, especially at this age. »
The decision will therefore be made in Austria…
« Yes ! »
And announced in Austria…
« Yes ! Yes Yes Yes ! In any case, when things are definitively clear, it will be announced: There is no point in dragging people out. We must also respect Danilo, Iker and Raúl: Everyone is in the middle of their season and everyone wants to do well in the second part. So once they are fixed, it will be easier for these three drivers. We will therefore announce it as soon as it is done, the first or second weekend, and we all agreed that by leaving Austria the Tech3 line-up, that is to say the organization of the Tech3 team for 2022, would be made official. »
We have seen recent changes to the calendar due to the global pandemic which seems to be going in the wrong direction. Are you worried about the second part of the season, especially for the races outside Europe?
« Unfortunately, it is clear that we are not out of this damn pandemic, that’s clear! Each time a new wave and the restrictive measures that result from it end with falling figures, we say to ourselves “that’s it, it’s over, it’s behind us”. This time, we still have a huge bonus compared to other times, which is that there is a significant part of the European and even global population which has been vaccinated. So it is clear that the consequences will be different, because even if there can be even more contagious mutations of the virus, which is the case, if there are fewer people to be infected by the virus, between people who have been vaccinated and people who have been contaminated, that is still starting to make up a significant percentage. This could ensure that the pressure in hospitals is less significant. But obviously, we know that we are not out of it: We can clearly see that Japan and Australia preferred to cancel. But for the second part of the season, I sincerely think that our paddock is almost completely vaccinated, with only a few people who have not yet been vaccinated. The vast majority of people in the paddock are vaccinated. Obviously the protocols for going overseas, and even for going to Europe, are still in place: There are always masks in the paddock, you always have to show vaccination certificates or negative PCR tests to enter the paddock. We therefore operate in a closed environment, where the risks of contamination are not zero but much more limited. I know that the two Asian races, Thailand and Malaysia, will also be held behind closed doors. Arriving in Bangkok, we will have to get off the plane and get directly on a charter which will take us to Buriram, and from Buriram we will take a charter which will take us directly to Kuala Lumpur. Each time, upon arriving at the airport, we are taken in hand by the local authorities for airport–hotel, hotel–tour, circuit–hotel, hotel–airport journeys, and we return home. So from this information, given what we experienced in 2020 and given that we still have some experience in managing this virus, no, I'm not too worried about the second part of 2021 and so that the calendar that has just been released works smoothly until the end of the year. »
« What makes us scratch our heads a lot more is that we really thought that 2022 would be a season that would return to normal, that is to say without spectator gauges and with a paddock open to guests, journalists, all the media, to sponsors and their guests, with hospitality to receive our guests and the people who make us exist in relation to their investments with us, and not, as is currently the case, only restaurants to the teams. And that, depending on how the pandemic will evolve, how the variants will sharpen, we are much more doubtful about 2022. We really wonder when the world before will return and if it will come back one day. When I talk about the world before, it's until 2019. »
