For the older among us, Jacques Roca is a surname inseparably linked to the former 7-time French champion driver who produced kits to improve Suzukis, whether they be polyester saddle-tank sets. or performance parts. “Maître Jacques”, as he was respectfully called, an atypical cycling champion who successfully switched to motorcycles, of whom you can find a summary of his career on the site Bike70.
From left to right, Angel Nieto (3), Jan Tennis Huberts (1), Jacques Roca (4), Francesc Tombas and Josep Maria Busquets (2), Derbi team, 1964 Spanish Grand Prix 50 cc
But today, Jacques Roca is also the name of a technician from the Suzuki Ecstar team who officiates in MotoGP, his son... How, in these conditions, can you not want to know more about his journey which was however far from being written in advance?
After working for 2 years with Andrea Iannone, Jacques Roca is today at the dawn of a new adventure, with the promising rookie Joan Mir.
Jacques, can you remind us what your dad did?
Jacques Roca : “my father is linked to Suzuki. He worked for 25 years as technical director at Suzuki France, when Mr Bonnet was in charge, before the Japanese arrived. He was also a tester of the new models and went to Japan for this, to the Suzuki track where I was able to go later. Then he had Suzuki dealerships for quite a few years, and as the famous GT 750 was not selling very well at Suzuki France, he modified it and it was a great success. From there, the name Roca began to be heard a little by the general public.”
What is your first memory of motorcycles, which we imagine linked to your dad?
“Obviously, I grew up in my father's motorcycle shops. I never saw him race because when I was born, he had already stopped, but I have very good memories of the time when he took me to motorcycle shows to work at Suzuki France. My mother dressed me in little costumes when I was 5 years old. I would wander into salons left and right, and I was immersed in this world from a very young age.”
It was a dream, right? Because you had to look at them like toys...
" Absolutely ! I obviously don't remember it, but when I was born, my father told my mother at the hospital that he had brought me a gift. It was a Pocket bike brought from Japan! The day I was born, I already had a pocket bike (laughs). I actually have photos where I'm in them when I'm still a baby. When I was 3 years old, he put wheels on it and blocked the accelerator so I wouldn't turn around. So I started on a motorcycle very early. Then, when I was 5 or 6 years old, we went to the circuits on Sundays and my father took care of his customers' motorcycles. I had a PW 50 and I walked around the paddock all day. I asked the drivers for gas and didn’t stop driving all day.”
We can imagine that when you were little, you didn't want to be a firefighter, doctor or airplane pilot, like the majority of boys... But, rather a pilot or a mechanic?
“At the time, there were PW 50 races, but as my father was busy at the store on Saturday, the big day, he couldn't take me there. I remember that a customer driver of my father took me to the Carole circuit where I did my first laps on a track, with my PW equipped with scooter tires. I was overtaken everywhere by real fighter planes. In the evening, we returned to the store in Issy-les-Moulineaux: I went down to the workshop and threw the PW on the ground saying » with that, I get overtaken by everyone « . Then I left. But after his day's work, my father put the PW on the workbench and started dismantling the ignition, the carburetor, opening the pot, tapping the cylinder transfers and filing the cylinder head...
But I remember it like it was today: I told her to stop because I was sure she would go too fast and I wouldn't be able to drive her, and I went back up the store crying. . Around 10 p.m. he called me and we went out into the street to try the PW. It made a hell of a racket and I had tears in my eyes, but I was happy: it was a fighter plane!
The following Sunday, I found myself with around thirty PWs and a guy with a flag who started to bend his fingers: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… but no one had explained anything to me and so I left last. With my fighter plane, I finished 5th, and from there, I continued, but without necessarily thinking about what happened next.”
