The boss of the Tech3 team is undoubtedly not experiencing the season he would have dreamed of in 2016. Certainly, his driver Pol Espargaró remains as the best of the satellite drivers in the provisional general classification, but he is leaving for KTM, just like the one that the Frenchman trained and revealed, Bradley Smith. There is a sort of end-of-reign atmosphere in the French team. But the best is yet to come.
And this best will be 2017 with a great adventure that will begin with Johann zarco. A compatriot who did not have the favor of Suzuki to become an official rider. But at Tech3, we are not far from the Yamaha factory and we are a structure that knows how to promote the development of the rider. However, it is an already Moto2 World Champion who arrives, in the running to win a second title which would be unprecedented since, as yet, no one has managed to win two consecutive crowns in this category where we fight like crazy fired.
A journey thatHervé Poncharal rightly emphasizes speedweek : " I go to see him every Grand Prix Sunday and I must say that I'm starting to run out of superlatives. He really surprised me. At the start of the season he had problems and even in Austria I thought he would get a podium at best, but he won again. It's incredible. It makes me happy and proud. He writes the history of Moto2. I know he doesn't like me telling him, but he's the boss. No one else has shone as much as him except Marc Márquez. This is a category where it is the driver who makes the difference and he is remarkable ».
The history of Moto2 undoubtedly, but the rider Ajo is also part of the legend of French motorcycling. Here he is at the head of 38 victories and 27 podiums collected in Moto2 and 125cc. On the shelves, it has exceeded Christian Sarron who was until then the most capped tricolor. But Hervé Poncharal keeps all accounts: “ he is the Frenchman who has the most victories and the most podiums. He still has to beat Olivier Jacque who is the one with the most pole positions ».
Now, the Frenchman is above all a team boss: “ I just want good drivers and for me, whether you are French, Spanish or German, there is no difference. I want smart pilots who are fast and friendly. No matter their nationality ". This leaves at least some hope for the German Jonas Folger who will be the teammate of zarco on the Yamaha Tech3 in 2017.
We will recall, regarding Johann zarco, that he was 31 points behind in the championship on the evening of the French Grand Prix. In six races, he scored 125 points with four victories, a second place, and eleventh place taken in Brno. He leads his championship with 19 points ahead of a alex rins who has just had surgery on a broken collarbone during training. The British Grand Prix will take place next weekend.
