Like all enthusiasts, we were very disappointed to experience this day without any Grand Prix sessions. However, we fully understand that the organizers found themselves faced with an exceptional situation, and that they therefore played the safety card.
Indeed, in addition to the question about the good visibility of driving at night in rainy conditions, which was anticipated by Dorna which had taken the measures that we had already informed you about, was added the discovery of 'a circuit totally impassable given the violence of the bad weather.
Faced with these two reactions, disappointment and understanding, we wanted to gather the feeling of another enthusiast, but himself involved in the decisions of the organization, namely Hervé Poncharal, president of the IRTA.
Hervé, we understand very well the security issues which led to the cancellation of all of today's sessions, but do you also understand the disappointment of all French MotoGP enthusiasts who were deprived of Johann Zarco's first qualification in MotoGP?
Hervé Poncharal : » I completely understand the disappointment of all the people who follow MotoGP and who were impatiently waiting, after this very long winter break, for this first qualifying session with the intensity, in the MotoGP class, of Q1 and Q2. We were lucky to have our two drivers, after FP3, to be in the top 10 therefore directly into Q2, and very sincerely, to speak on behalf of everyone, except perhaps Iannone, everyone had want to do a qualifying session, including Johann Zarco and including Jonas Folger. That's clear !
Above all, obviously four is very good, and eight is good, but I think that we could achieve a very similar result, and maybe even better, who knows, if it had happened in normal conditions.
That being said, at some point, we are forced, fortunately or unfortunately, to deal with the weather conditions. And for me, what made me, at one point, a little bad for all the people who were on the circuit or in front of their screen, was that there was no decision made quickly enough . And that happened because, precisely, we did the maximum as long as we could, with Loris Capirossi and Franco Uncini in particular, to do everything we could to try to ride and have a qualifying session, in front of all the people who were waiting for it. That's why it lasted so long. Unfortunately, at one point, we had to face the facts and this was, in any case, borne by all the drivers, even those who were not very well placed on the grid, because it was very, very dangerous. Not only were there large rivers crossing the track, but that would have taken us very late, and we know that the conditions are very problematic in the evening after 22 p.m.
So yes, I understand their disappointment, but honestly there was no other solution. The big problem that we saw and that we had never encountered is that a priori, since there have been weather statistics in Qatar, it has never rained so hard, ever!
So it’s still something that is extremely rare. Now, this can happen and the counterpart of this situation is that the drainage of the circuit is very poor. The gravel traps were water reservoirs. And so, even though we had done everything you saw on TV, sending pumps and putting people in large numbers everywhere, it continued to flow, flow, flow. It was making resurgences, like springs, and it was impossible.
We too were disappointed. Frankly, whether at the level of the Tech3 MotoGP team, but also the Moto2 team, because Xavi Virginie had done his time alone yesterday and he was confident of being able to improve his position. Remy Gardner had not passed the soft tire, so he was 23 and he was waiting for qualifying. But, at some point, you have to have the ability to override your self-interest, and there was no other solution.
Besides, honestly, all the teams and drivers, and even a guy like Lorenzo who found himself 12th and thought he would do much better in qualifying, everyone said it was the right decision. Everyone agreed because there was nothing else to do: we weren't going to send everyone into carnage! »
If we understand correctly, when asked about the possibility of racing in the event of rain at night, you found yourself with a circuit completely unable to evacuate heavy rain due to lack of drainage?
" Yes yes. I think that in any case, we had already had a good downpour in 2009 when the Grand Prix was postponed to Monday, but despite this rain which was exceptional, there had been no problem because it was certainly heavy but more or less less normal. But there, to realize the situation, last night, the teams including ours were blocked and left the paddock at three in the morning. They couldn't leave the circuit. There was something like 50cm of water on the paddock. Cars couldn't get out. In our hotel, there was 20 to 30 cm of water in the entrance hall. It was incredible how much it rained last night. It was incredible. So yes, it showed that the circuit was not sufficiently drained, that is clear, but there also remains the question of the drivers' feelings regarding the feasibility of driving in the rain at night. And we still haven't had that.
From these two things, we will always come out stronger. The circuit, and it is not a lack of means when we know the means which are invested to have a great Grand Prix here, the circuit saw, understood and made the decision to redo the drainage. And when we see what they did with the lighting, we can trust them to do it very well. So this will be done following this unfortunate experience that we have just had. In addition, we have now decided that we are going to stop procrastinating with these runs or not runs, and next year, during the three days of pre-Grand Prix testing, there will be a day which will be dedicated to testing on wet at night, even if it means soaking the track with tankers. Then, we will position ourselves definitively. In any case, the race in Qatar will remain at night, that is the wish of everyone, not only in Qatar but also in the paddock. But if by chance the drivers decide that it is not possible to ride in the rain at night, at that moment, the day races will exceptionally be postponed. »
Let's talk about something else. What is the state of stress of the team manager of two Rookies who will start tomorrow from fourth and eighth position on the starting grid for this first Grand Prix of the season?
» Listen, there is already one good thing, it is that the most stressed is the team manager, which proves that I am better in my position as team manager than that of driver (laughs). Because both drivers are surprisingly relaxed, calm and confident. So maybe it will happen tomorrow, but honestly I looked for traces of excitement, of nervousness, and I didn't see any in either of them. »
This reassures you…
“Of course that reassures me. Now, I know that the race is going to be difficult, I know that we are going to discover things. We've done tests, like the start tests, and it's going well, but how will it happen when they're all going to be side by side on the grid? We're going to find out. We know that our weak point, even when we had super qualifying with Pol or Bradley, it was always the first laps where we lost a lot of positions because we weren't aggressive enough in the first laps. There, we will see how our drivers will react and that will be very important. And then, it has to happen, so nervous, big wait because both drivers can achieve a good result. Now… I was going to say that we have to take our virginity (laughs), but here we are, we have to go. But whatever happens, the two drivers are really calm and I would say that they have the confident attitude of old hands. They really impress me, even with their cool and relaxed attitude, and even when there was talk about canceling the qualifying session, they were always relaxed in announcing that they would follow the majority, whatever that might be. the decision made. »
Well, we will think of you during the race, easily imagining your state of joy or sadness...
“Look, anyway, whatever happens, we could be a mess tomorrow in the race, both drivers could have a very disappointing race whatever the reasons. But whatever happens, we know that we have two drivers who are extremely efficient, we are sure of it, and even if that doesn't translate into the first Grand Prix, we have a great season ahead of us. As I already told you, in Valencia, Sepang, Phillip Island and in Qatar, they were fast, in times and in race simulation, they sometimes drove in the rain, and that went quite well, so of course we would like it to turn into a great result from the first race, but whatever happens, I think we are at the dawn of a really great season. There are quite a few French people who came here to Qatar to open the night championship because it's a rather nice format, there is a strong enthusiasm. So it's nice to see that people have a bit of the same feeling that we have, that is to say that we are at the dawn of something that could be very, very strong. »
FOLGER Jonas (GER)
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Yamaha
MotoGP
2017 Qatar GP (Losail Circuit)
TBU
photo: MICHELIN
