Hervé Poncharal is the boss of the Tech3 team, which is certainly a very nice position. But to summarize it in this position is to forget that we are dealing with an authentic enthusiast, steeped in values that we would define in the old-fashioned way in this cold world after, a “Gaul” in the noble sense of the term as it likes to define itself. Which means unfailing commitment - he is also President of the IRTA team association - and transparent loyalty to the motorcycle cause which often leads him to put the heart before reason. Before the resumption at the beginning of August in Austria, he takes stock of the state of the French troops in MotoGP. His own included!
Hervé Poncharal knows a lot about motorcycle racing and the Grand Prix world. But every time he talks about it, we always sense in him this spark of passion that long experience and trials have never extinguished. A state of mind which exudes in his mid-season assessment of the French. And it begins with a quasi-tribute from the current leader in the championship, fabio quartararo… At the microphone of Paddock-GP, he declared: “ in terms of drivers, even if it is very tight and very homogeneous, there is still one who stands out as being the boss, really. Whether it is in the way he dominates the tests and in particular the qualifications, or the vision he has in the race, he is fast but he is also intelligent, composed, thoughtful. He has strategy, he builds his weekend like a boss, and I think today we can say that he is the boss ».
He is very clear: “ what Fabio does is magnificent! In addition, he was disturbed but he was not destabilized when he had his arm problem in Jerez even though he had won the race. He gritted his teeth to finish thirteenth and made no mistake. Then there was this famous combination story in Barcelona where he was certainly in a position to get on the podium and score big points. This is where you see that he is really in good spirit and that he has confidence in himself. He reacted like a great champion, without panicking and without the pressure disturbing him excessively ».
Poncharal also gives a special mention: “ bravo also to his performance at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, because, until now, the Yamaha has never been the best in the rain and Fabio had not ridden much in these conditions so it was a little more unknown for him and for the other pilots. But he had a magnificent French Grand Prix in the rain! So I think that we have the championship which is very open but despite everything there is one who is stronger than the others, who manages and who dominates, and we are very proud of it because, obviously, everyone I love the French even more, and for a French person seeing what Fabio does is magnificent ».
About French, the boss of Tech3 don’t forget your old pilot either… “ There is also Johann Zarco who is number two behind Fabio in the rankings. He is the best Ducati and he also races superbly with few mistakes. He's always there on Sunday! »
Hervé Poncharal: “ there are no more excuses because KTM factory riders are now winning races«
So much for his compatriots on the track. But Hervé Poncharal is also responsible for a team, and he also makes an evaluation of it. Which allows him to set deadlines for the second part of the season: “ it's hard ! Honestly, hard! We knew that by losing Miguel we would lose a lot, but in the end we lost even more than we could imagine » regrets the tricolor still on Paddock-GP that holds the top spot. " Right now it's not easy even if Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona are charming boys. But we are all here to perform, we are all this to be in the top 5 or even make the podium, and today it is almost inaccessible. At best, we had a good fifth place at Le Mans in weather conditions that suited Danilo well, but it's complicated, even if we saw that since Germany we got a little closer with the new chassis ».
« But without his fall, Iker would have done at best 10 or 11 in Assen, and Danilo did 13. So even if we are closer, it is still far. We hope that our pilots will recharge their batteries a little during this summer break and that they will come back with a knife between their teeth, because their future is far from being mapped out today. »
Et Hervé Poncharal wants to send a clear message to his riders since, on motogp.com, he added on the subject: “ we can see that the factory riders are in front now, winning races, so we really need to be closer to Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder. Danilo and Iker will have more experience and more knowledge of the bike, and our goal is to be in the top 10 in almost every race. This is what we have to do. It's not easy to get into the top 10 given the level of competitiveness in the grid, but that's the goal. We have to do it and there are no excuses because I think our package is becoming really competitive now ". The mission letter is submitted.
