On a very regular basis, and for more than two years now, Hervé Poncharal has done us the honor of sharing his point of view with us after the Grands Prix (See here).
Listening to his words, which are the fruit of 40 years of experience, is always a pleasure, especially since the man does not have his tongue in his pocket. We thus share with you his emotions, which can fluctuate throughout the trials from disappointment to the greatest joys, without obscuring the small passing gnashing of teeth or, on the contrary, the flights which go well beyond sport...
And we thank him greatly!
Access the first part of the interview here
Access the second part of the interview here
Since we're talking about it, Hafizh Syahrin had two very good weekends, in Australia and Malaysia, with moving images the last weekend...
Hervé Poncharal : “Hafizh, I have often told you, he is someone we adore because he makes us laugh. He's great and he brings a good atmosphere to the box. Sometimes the work is a little hard and we've had some tough times, whether it's Johann or Hafizh, and that's always the element that lightens the atmosphere. For example, he calls everyone “my balls”, including Johann, which always makes us laugh. The last little anecdote is that in Australia, I don't remember what product it was for but there was an advertisement that played repetitively with the music and lyrics of “Mini, mini” by Jacques Dutronc. One morning, he arrives humming “mini, mini” and we point out to him that it is a French song, asking him where he heard it. He explained it to us and we translated the words to him. Since then, every time he enters the box, he sings it, so much so that journalists spoke to him about it during the pre-event press conference in Kuala Lumpur. All that to say that it's always nice with him and he took great care of the team in Malaysia.
So obviously he had a great race in Australia which unfortunately ended flat on his face, but he was really in it there. In Sepang, there were a lot of obligations and he took care of the team very well, and that perhaps explains his very very average performance in testing, not to say below what we hoped for. I think he was under a lot of pressure and felt invested in a mega mission, in his role as ambassador with the eyes of 110 people focused on him. This explains a little why he crashed on the grid. He felt that there was something to be done but he was moved and disappointed not to have done better in qualifying. Finding yourself last on the grid for your national Grand Prix is complicated, especially since your father and mother were there. All that created the images we saw, where he cried and left the gate to go hug his father. On the grid, I told him: “I believe in you and I’m sure it will do it. Don’t be negative about your position, I’m convinced that you’re going to do well.” I was very positive. And then, he made this start and this crazy first lap, then a superb race. We are very happy about that because it's true that, frankly, until Saturday evening we were disappointed. Also for him, not just for us.
When you have a weekend like the one we did in Australia, but especially the one we did in Malaysia, everyone lives in the present. KTM told us: “we are super happy to have found the great Johann, and we are super happy to see that Hafizh is able to fight the way he fought”. You also know that our future partners, and employer for Johann, are scrutinizing all of this. So it was a big relief and we were indeed happy. Of course, Johann was happy and responded to all the requests that are inherent to those who make a podium, parc ferme, conference, etc. But after the race, Hafizh’s celebration was also strong and beautiful.”
Finally, let's talk about Remy Gardner who has been quite impressive for two Grands Prix, even if he hasn't been able to make a difference in the race so far...
“A few races ago, and you talked about it with Guy Coulon, some were saying that Yamaha had to make a V4 to be ahead in MotoGP, that the in-line 4 cylinders were more sufficient, and blah, and blah, and blah… And he told you that it was funny because the Suzukis worked, and therefore that wasn't the case. Today, if you look, Márquez is an alien and he is the one who makes Honda win more than the V4, and at Sepang, the Yamaha and the Suzuki were performing well. So here, we could almost say that those who have a V4 should start thinking about making an in-line 4-cylinder… I'm intentionally being provocative, but all this is to say that people who prioritize should be careful not to be too peremptory. And it's the same thing for Moto2, because we always say that without a Kalex or a KTM, there is no salvation. But Speed Up demonstrated this year that with a top driver, and Fabio is one, we could fight with them. And Remy, who is starting to ride really well, also shows that a Mistral can fight for the front lines and for the podiums. The driver made two small mistakes which prevented him from being on the podium, but I think that in Australia he was rather faster than Mir since it was Mir who hampered him and who made him dropped. And Mir finished 2nd in Australia… There, Remy was really in trouble. There, in Malaysia, he got a little too angry. When he sees that he is ahead, he wants to do well so much that he overdrives. But in any case, we saw that the first line had not gone far and that he could still at least play a top 5.
It's a real shame because I think that with Remy, we missed the boat. He had placed 6th in Argentina but the big problem was this huge fall he had where he broke both legs into 1000 pieces: what he had was serious! He is only now starting to be in full possession of his physical means, and he is really enjoying himself on the bike. And for 2 or 4 races, it’s paying off!
So obviously, it pains me, because I spoke to you about the Yamaha, but this is the 10th season with Honda-powered Moto2s and you can imagine that this year there haven't been a lot of development for us since we know that we will be riding KTMs next year, and we see that the machine is still in the game! And when you see the power of a KTM factory, with the number of tests, whether on the track or in the wind tunnel, the power of Kalex with the amount of feedback and information they have with the number of drivers they have on the grid, the fact that Speed Up or Tech3 are in the game proves that a Guy Coulon, a Nicolas Goyon and all the people who worked on this program, with ridiculous means impossible to compare with those from KTM and Kalex, ultimately the guys aren't that bad!
There is no question of inflating our chests, and we have understood that without a KTM or a Kalex, there was no question of attracting top riders. The dice are loaded and it can't work. The Mistral adventure ends and it's always a bit of a pang in the heart, but we do it without bitterness. We achieved our dreams. Next season, we fit into the mold but it's still comforting to see that, at the end of this adventure, when you have a driver like Virginie showed last year, notably with her first line on the dry and his podium in the wet at Motegi, when you have a driver who works, the machines are all very, very close.
And the same in MotoGP: when you have a rider who works, who believes in it and who is positive, even if you have a bike that is 2 years old without any evolution, you can still fight for the top 5, or even podiums , even poles.”
Will Bo Bendsneyder be back in Valencia?
“No, Hector Garzo will ride in his place. He will be in Valencia as a spectator. It's a shame because he had his best race in Thailand, finishing 14th, but with great times and a great second half of the race. Then there was this horrible incident and it's something that shouldn't happen, although unfortunately in motorsport these things can still happen.
Where I am happy is that, both Remy at Stop and Go, and Bo at NTS, have found a handlebar and will have competitive bikes next year. It’s important for me, because both are good drivers.”
