No rest for Valentin Debise; after a victory at Road America the previous week, the M4 SPORTBIKETRACKGEAR.COM SUZUKI team went straight to Barber last weekend for a new round of the MotoAmerica championship.
A fairly difficult weekend for the young French driver, the previous episodes of which you can find here: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
Valentine Debise: “J’ai rarement autant souffert lors d’une course de moto. En Alabama, à Barber, là où il y a ce fameux musée à l’intérieur du circuit. Cette piste est récente, une quinzaine d’années. Le circuit a été dessiné en fonction du relief naturel. Les alentours du circuit sont ultra entretenus, je n’ai jamais vu un circuit aussi propre et attractif. Une pelouse tondue à ras à perte de vue, des statues en ferraille dans tous les coins. Il y a même des « vampires » dans une marre ! Terrain de motocross, piste de karting, piste école pour une marque de luxe et j’en passe.
My free practice went better than usual because this winter I had completed around ten laps here. Too easy! Some turns were difficult to learn. You reach the bottom from 5 to 200 km/h, and as soon as you brake, you have to start to initiate the turn and downshift two gears. We arrive at the first rope point. It is important to release the brakes at this point because there is a big bump (I had a bad experience of this during qualifying on Saturday morning). Then, you have to raise the bike slightly by applying the brakes more forcefully and downshift one more gear. Then, pass a vibrator which is quite high, and where the wheels take off. Then the track descends steeply and turns sharply to the right. We trigger the bike by putting a lot of intensity into it. The corner opens at the exit, we accelerate for a long time on the corner by changing two gears on the corner. All this during 21 laps of the race!
Sachant que les courses vont être dures pour le pilote et pour la mécanique, je passe plus de temps à travailler mon rythme de course en pneus usés qu’à aller chercher un chrono à tout prix. Je passe quand même un pneu neuf en fin de qualification, et je trouve un lièvre (un autre pilote) pour me tirer un tour. Je réalise un bon chrono me plaçant deuxième à 1 dixième. Voyant ça, je me dit “mince, je vais essayer de cravacher un peu plus pour prendre la première pole position de l’année”. Je fais une petite erreur au virage dont je viens de vous parler plus haut. Je tombe assez vite, je me relève tranquillement. Mais après ça, je ne me sens pas bien. Ayant 5 heures avant la course, je prends le temps de boire un maximum, m’alimenter, m’étirer etc. Rien y fait, je suis à plat ! Les mécaniciens ont fait un travail extraordinaire. La moto refaite à neuve, je n’ai même pas besoin de monter dessus, tout était parfait. Que ce soit les demi-guidons, la position de mes leviers; tout était à la position exacte d’avant chute. Bravo !
I got a good start, and found myself second. I decide to stay calm, and try to relax on the bike. After a few laps, I start to feel good; I attack for two turns. I am in the battle. And there, no more strength, my body no longer wants to do anything. From that moment on, I was as pissed as ever. The heat was unbearable, the grip very weak. I concentrated turn after turn without thinking about how tired I was. 3 laps before the end, red flag; a fall ? No, just a storm coming; It's becoming a habit lol.
First of all, I was happy that the race was not stopped due to the fall of a competitor. In second, three laps less… it was magnificent because I was really at the end of my rope. I manage to save a podium from nowhere, and I wonder what I'm doing there. I was a little lost, but happy that the ordeal was over. The morning fall didn't help, and I've never felt that way. Shock plus heat don't go together!
Second race, this time I have even more time to prepare. My engine breaks during warm-up before leaving for warm-up. I think I was extremely lucky on this one. The bike could have broken during one of the two races, or, worse, during warm-up and caused me to crash. I take patience and return to isolate myself in peace. It's even warmer today; the thermometer shows 41°! My coach, Ken Hill, tells me “today is no joke”, he says the truth! Once again, my team is working to change the engine. Everything was ready. They wouldn't have told me anything, I wouldn't have noticed the difference. The clutch was exactly the same on the track. The engine power is equal. They don't joke about precision; they are good !
Once again, good start. I see one of the Yam' boys stealing the start. I don't focus on that. Today, they are all angry on the track. I'm getting knocked out everywhere. My goal is to set my pace and keep it until the end to save myself physically. I still don't feel comfortable, but a little better than the day before. Two drivers escape mid-race. I am 5th, a little behind the second group which is fighting for the podium. Believing in my strategy, I did not relax my effort, and ended up catching up with the group ahead of me. There are 5 rounds left, I observe what they do and evaluate the possibilities that will be offered to me. I start the last round 5rd. I pass 4rd quite easily when braking hard downhill. I close the doors and just follow third to attack on the inside of the penultimate corner. He decides to close the door very early. I arrive launched behind, I had already prepared my attack. I brake hard, and the front slides over the bumps. This turn precedes a left. It makes a kind of chicane with a little space between the two turns. I accelerate hard to overtake him on the left. I try to squeeze inside, thinking he'll close the door again. The idea is to put myself at his level, but not in front of him to block him from accelerating. On this turn, he takes the usual trajectory. I find myself inside, third, too far ahead of him. I wait before accelerating to block him at the apex, but I come out quite well despite everything. I hear his motorcycle coming on my left. So I go to the left to push him and defend my position; we touch each other slightly, and I quickly tighten my elbows so as not to lose km/h. He beats me on the line by 14 hundredths. I'm upset ! That's how it is, he was better, and I can't win my battles every time, otherwise there wouldn't be any fun.
Overall, I am satisfied with my weekend. It hasn't been the best, but I'm satisfied when I see the problems we encountered, whether it was me physically, or the bike. I'm doing really well.
For the anecdote of the weekend, my team was on the verge of being fined, because the 1000cc didn't make enough noise, incredible but true!
For the competitor who stole the start, the officials told me that the cameras on the starting grid were not working because of the heat. Nothing is ever perfect in all the championships I have done; I take the good sides into account, without dwelling on these kinds of details.
It was nice to have the team partners by our side. M4 exhausts, parts dealer Sportbiketrackgear.com as well as Suzuki.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank them, as well as my partners who tirelessly help me make my dreams come true: ARAI helmets, PILOT suits, the INTERMARCHE CARMAUX supermarket, the car salesman SN DIFFUSION, ALPINESTARS boots, TAICHI gloves , as well as others who do not want to be cited.
Thank you to all
Sportingly
Valentine”
