MotoGP Exclusive interview with Gilles Bigot (Marc VDS) “This new season is a scenario worthy of Hollywood”

While the Sepang pre-tests have just ended and the official tests will begin from February 6 to 8 on the same Malaysian circuit, we took an overview of the start of the season with Gilles Bigot, who accompanied Alex Criville to the 500 title in 1999, and who last year served as Tom Lüthi's team leader at Marc VDS. This year Gilles is responsible for Xavi Virginie's Kalex, still within the same team, with the brand new Triumph 765 Moto2 engine.

When Marc Marquez rode on January 29, he said he lacked strength and stability in his left arm, following his tendon problem, when braking and when turning left. Isn't that worrying a month and a half before the first Grand Prix, knowing that he was only running on a small NSF100 (see photo)?

“He had no choice but to have surgery, continuing to ride with a damaged shoulder was undoubtedly much riskier. The disaster scenario was not far away. He will soon be 26 years old and he can recover quite quickly, he is very motivated and has learned to manage several types of situations. So, before passing judgment, let's wait until the end of the Sepang test, his lap pace will be an indication of his true physical state.

Won't the interest of Marc's opponents (including Jorge Lorenzo) be to push as hard as possible during the first races to try to open a small gap on him, if he is not at 100%?

“This new season is a scenario worthy of Hollywood: the teams, the drivers, and the millions of fans are certainly asking themselves the same questions but in the end it doesn't change anything because to beat Marquez you have to push as hard as possible. as he himself does race after race.

“If he is reduced for the first events, there is no doubt that he will do his best to get back into contact so in any case whoever wants to win the title will have to be very strong at each GP. There will be no respite. »

What is the advantage for Ducati of having 6 machines entered (three 2019 models – for Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller – and three 2018)?

“Ducati is making a very big effort in terms of analysis and seems to have a small head start in its approach compared to the competition. So they collect as much information as possible and analyze the different configurations to further improve their knowledge and consider improvements while preparing their new recruits. What is suitable for Andrea Dovizioso will perhaps not be what Francis Bagnaia will need ".

Does the difficulty for Yamaha in providing motorcycles adapted to its two riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales come from their different riding styles? Especially since Franco Morbidelli is added this year.

“Yes, it's difficult to separate things with an impatient and very fiery young driver (Viñales) and a very experienced older driver who is chasing a 10th title, who has a different philosophy and a lot of power within the team.

" SO Franco Morbidelli will be a plus, with a configuration similar to the official drivers. He will either be closer to Rossi or closer to Viñales. On a technical level, we can imagine that this will be a valuable help for Yamaha engineers to define the way forward and that all skills will be focused on a single objective.

Will Álex Rins or Joan Mir take a win for Suzuki this year?

“It's not the biggest team, but they had a very good bike. Álex Rins progressed a lot in 2018 with 5 podiums to his name, so the potential is there. On paper the possibility of winning is real. For Joan Mir it may be too early but why not performances like Johann Zarco in 2017? »

Who do you see as the main opponents for the Moto2 title against your rider Xavi Virginie (photo below), member of the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS team, who has a Kalex?

“In 2018 his injury during the Austrian GP slowed his progress so we hope for good performances from Xavi but there are several candidates who performed in 2018: Alex Marquez, Luca Marini, Marcel Schrötter on Kalex and Brad Binder on KTM, and don't forget Lorenzo Baldassarri, Augusto Fernandez, Iker Lecuona, and the new guys coming from Moto3, nor Tom Lüthi and Sam Lowes coming from MotoGP."

Title photo: Next to Gilles (red circle) did you recognize Mike di Meglio on the left?

Photos © EG 0,0 Marc VDS, Repsol Media, Ducati