The SHARK Helmets Grand Prix de France 2019 organized its press conference this Tuesday in Paris on the Bateaux Mouches in the presence of around a hundred guests, bringing together media, partners and drivers.
The opportunity for Claude Michy, the promoter of the French Grand Prix, to present all the key elements of the French Grand Prix, with particular emphasis on making new videos available (visit to the Race Direction, the KTM box with Johann Zarco, etc. .) which will be accessible on site for spectators via a QR Code, as well as the 3rd edition of the International Bridgestone Handy Race discussed in the presence of Kevin Simonato, Vice-President of the Handi Free Riders association, andEmiliano Malagoli, President of the Italian association Di. Di. Variously Disabled.
Before letting the six pilots present speak, the floor was given to Jacques Bolle, President of the FFM, Patrick François, President of SHARK Helmets, the French company title sponsor for the 3 upcoming editions of the French Moto Grand Prix, as well as Didier Lahaye et Thomas Senecal, respectively Deputy Director of Sports and Editor-in-Chief of Motor Sports for the Canal+ group.
Finally, the MotoGP riders Johann zarco, Fabio Quartararo et Miguel Oliveira, as well as MotoE riders Randy De Puniet, Mike Di Meglio et Kenny Foray, were able to answer questions from Remy Tissier before taking part in the photos and interviews.
First we will call Kenny Foray, Tech3 rider in MotoE. You are also an endurance driver, like Mike Di Meglio and Randy de Puniet this year. You also rode a season with your brother at world level in 1000 Superstock. There, before unfortunately the motorcycles burned, you rode MotoE. What are your feelings?
Kenny Foray : “It's difficult for some to recognize, but it remains a motorcycle with two wheels, a fork and a shock absorber that work like a thermal motorcycle. Today there are still small disadvantages, for example a motorbike which is quite heavy and a range which is not very very great, but it is a discovery. It’s a new era and you have to know how to adapt to that and I think this MotoE World Cup has a full future ahead of it.”
What is your potential in this championship against boys like Randy or Mike who will perhaps play for the final victory? It might be a little more complicated for you but I imagine it must be magical to ride with Grand Prix drivers…
“Yes, he is one of the French drivers who have quite an important history in Grand Prix. For me, it's a pleasure to be able to do it but that doesn't mean that I'm going to aim for the last places either. I have a lot of hope for this racing formula and these rounds which are very short. It's very different from Endurance, but you have to work and I hope to be able to do great things to thank all the people who trusted me in this project. Once again, I know that it is something very pleasant for me, in quotes at my age, to be able to participate in this World Cup in a paddock like that of MotoGP. It really is maximum pleasure! »
So precisely, you are talking about the French drivers who were in the MotoGP paddock. How did you manage to join this championship?
“Some time ago, I called Hervé Poncharal to get news about this championship because I thought that 15 or 16 year olds might not want to ride electric motorcycles right away. Moto3 or Moto2 were perhaps a more suitable formula for their future. So I called, time passed, he called me back and ended up telling me that it was me he wanted to give a ride. So I was very happy and, as a result, the team has a driver like me, a little older, and a young 19-year-old Spaniard, Héctor Garzó. It completes the set a bit.”
To present this World Cup a little, it will be a special place in the paddock, since you will not be directly in the Tech3 box, and you will only have one motorcycle...
" That's it. There is one bike per rider which is the same for everyone in terms of chassis and suspensions. We don't have the right to do much to it apart from adjustments. Afterwards, yes, there will be an E-paddock which will be in the MotoGP paddock, but not in the boxes. It will really be a separate structure which will bring together a lot of technologies. Of course, this accident put a bit of a damper on the project, and it's quite sad since a lot of people were involved in it. But everyone's efforts and everyone's energy will make it possible to create a championship which, I am sure, will be great and will perhaps also have good years ahead of it, while knowing that it is an electric championship and that it is not designed to replace thermal technology tomorrow.”
Mike Di Meglio, you are going to do Endurance like your two French opponents here, and you are aiming for the top 3 in MotoE with the Marc VDS team…
Mike Di Meglio : “I think it's like any pilot: when you start something, you try to aim for the highest. The first tests in November went well. Afterwards, I understood a little bit how we drove this bike, so I trained a little bit at home using the same logic. We come there to win races, then it's certain that there will be a big field aiming for the same thing. We will therefore have to be competitive and be in front at all times.”
You said yesterday that you were enjoying yourself. Honestly, it's true, are you having fun with an electric motorcycle?
“The format is short, but like when I won the French Grand Prix in 2008, it was a sprint race, 5 laps, and you had to give everything over 5 laps. There was rain and we had to stay focused and not make any mistakes, but I went after it. These are different races from Endurance and Grand Prix races which are a little longer, but they will be races where there will be great fights and where we must not give up from the first to the last lap. It will be a great show, there will be a lot of people there, a lot of drivers who will want to win, and also young people who, perhaps not having really succeeded in Grand Prix, will want to show that they have the potential to return through another door to speed racing.”
There are a lot of detractors on social media. What can you tell them to try to convince them?
“I think there will be two shows for the people who will be there, and it will be a little confusing compared to the thermal machines. But for someone who will be sitting on their couch watching the race, it will be a race where we will give everything for 6 or 7 laps. There will be the same machines and the differences will be very small. I think it will do well on television.”
Randy de Puniet, you have found a team in MotoE that you know very, very well…
Randy de Puniet : “yes, absolutely, I rode in the LCR team and I spent 5 years there: my best years in MotoGP and my best memories. So when Lucio Cecchinello called me, I didn't hesitate. It’s a new adventure for me, and as I’m starting to get to the end, I’m trying to take it all in (laughs).”
“Sur la fin”, ce n’est pas ce qu’on a vu en Endurance ! Vous allez continuer les deux championnats en même temps ?
“Yes, I will participate in the 2 championships, like my 2 colleagues. So we're going to find ourselves in 2 different championships, and it's going to be fun. I really hope everything gets rebuilt quickly enough so we can have fun. And as Mike said, I think there will be around ten drivers who will be very, very close, and that could make for some very interesting races.”
You are also a consultant for MotoGP. After the first race, who are your favorites for this season?
" It's difficult. There was a magnificent race in Qatar: the Ducati are there, the Yamaha, the Suzuki, and Honda. We will see. The first race is always a little bit special, so we say that every year but I think we're really going to have a very, very good season. We see that the gaps are very small, and it’s the closest top 15 in the history of MotoGP, and I think it’s going to be like that all season.”
A word about the KTM, since you developed this machine. What do you think of his potential and what can fans and Austrians expect this year?
“They can hope to get into the top 10. That's what Johann wants to do, and why not get into the top 5 from time to time. We've seen that the level is very high and I know the difficulties of this machine. Pilots encounter the same. Now, when you see the gap between Johann and first, it is small, but he is 15th. It’s definitely not the place he wants to be! Now we have to continue working to find tenths and hundredths, and regularity. The season is long, there are resources and they have competent drivers. Everything is done to get there, now the road is still a little long.”
