Shinichi Sahara is a Suzuki project manager who will have a little more work to do in 2021. He will therefore have to defend the drivers' title taken by his champion Joan Mir while monitoring the good articulation of a new organization imposed by the departure of one of his closest collaborators: Davide Brivio. But the Japanese remains calm, sure of the skills of his group, of which test pilot Sylvain Guintoli is one of the driving forces. The 38-year-old Frenchman is once again praised for his skills…
Sylvain Guintoli was not forgotten during the celebration of the world title of Joan mir, and a generally particularly positive season for the brand Suzuki. She couldn't imagine a better scenario for her centenary year. Here we are in 2021, with the counters reset to zero, except that the GSX-RR are now expected around the corner...
In this regard, how have they evolved during this winter, and what does it have in store for us once they have been installed in their box in Losail, with a view to a Qatar Grand Prix who will launch hostilities? The project manager wants to be clear on the subject… “ our priority is always to maintain the balance of the motorcycle. So we don't just focus on the chassis or just the engine. We are trying to improve the whole basic package, the basic performance of the motorcycle ", said Sahara.
Shinichi Sahara: “the priority is always the result of the race, not the qualifications”
« What we need to improve is definitely the lap time in qualifying, but the priority is always the race result, not qualifying », specified the project manager Suzuki. " Of course, we also have to be on the first or second row of the grid for the race result. So we are developing with lap time in mind, mainly through small chassis adjustments in order to get a better front feel. This is just an example, but basically we always try to approach and solve the problem from many directions ».
A road map that lets you guess the full load of the test pilot. The latter must be particularly competent, and, precisely, Suzuki has one in the person of Sylvain Guintoli : " Sylvain is very important for us to develop the bike, to weigh in which direction we are going », Underlined the Japanese official. “ His comments are always very precise. His times are also very close to those of racing drivers, given that he is a test driver ". And he ends on speedweek : " he is so precise. Additionally, very consistent and physically strong ».
