#SpanishGP Exclusive debrief Hervé Poncharal: stress, Le Mans, Yamaha factory, etc. (2/2)

During interviews that Hervé Poncharal gives us at each Grand Prix , it sometimes happens that the question-and-answer game drifts into something more personal. This was the case after the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez where, after having analyzed as usual where the races of the Tech3 MotoGP riders, we wanted to know more about the man who lives this frenzied life to the rhythm of the Greats. Price, while remaining as passionate as ever after almost three decades at the head of his team.

We are publishing this second, more personal part this evening.

First part of the interview accessible here

Well, we've talked enough about Johann and now we're going to talk about Hervé Poncharal... When you leave, you're in your little cabin. By the way, what is the real name for this shelter?

“In the paddock, we call it the canopy. »

Yes, but we know how attached you are to France and the French language, and we will therefore call it the hut, without referring to the famous Jacky...

“(Laughs)”

So when it's time to leave, how fast is your heart beating, are you biting your nails or biting your lip? In short, how do you experience this?

" I am very stressed. You were even able to see some images where, no longer knowing what to do with my hands, I was not at my best... When the red lights go out, we look at our screens and we no longer notice that we are is stressed: we are completely focused on the bike. We watch how the clutch release goes, the exit from the grid, how our driver slips through, then we immediately count his position at the first corner. So yes, my heart is beating very hard, and without telling you everything, I think of my close relatives, of my mother who is still here and of my father who is no longer there. I always look at the sky a little, I talk to them all and ask them to help us, to make sure to follow our pilots and hold them with a little thread so that everything goes well. I do it almost every time I leave. But it doesn’t work every time (laughs).
So yes, obviously, I'm very stressed and that's what I tell my pilots: "you will always bluff me, and that's why I could never be a great pilot, is that you are calmer than me. And fortunately, because I wouldn’t be in a state to make a great start.” I'm a fairly emotional person, and habit, despite hundreds of Grands Prix in which I have participated, doesn't change anything. I can't get enough perspective to be calm and serene when leaving. »

Does this tension, which reaches its peak at the start, remain throughout the race?

" Oh yes ! Yes Yes Yes. She stays the whole race. Obviously, you count the laps and you find that it's very long. After five laps, you say to yourself “meeeeerde, there are still 22 laps left”. My daughter Mathilde tells me that she hears me screaming despite the noise and despite the fact that she is in the box and I am on the wall. So yes, I speak very loudly and probably make sometimes stupid comments. But I live with the pilot, just like my brother Jérôme who is next to me in the hut. I'm on the bike, I'm sweating with the rider, I'm warming up when it's hot and when he gets on top of another rider, I'm with him to help him gain ground, hundredth by hundredth. When it starts to settle, we continue counting the turns and it takes even longer. But the best moment is when it ends with a great result, like yesterday in Jerez, and you're waiting in the straight, and you see he's coming out of the last corner. There, you say to yourself “that’s it!” ". With the whole team, we climb the wall to greet him because it’s really won. And then, “pfiouuuuuuuu”, all the tension suddenly drops. There are tears when things go well, you jump into the arms of all the team members, and above all, you feel light. Light and free from everything, and you know that the end of the day is going to be beautiful, that you are going to have a nice evening. It's the highlight of the weekend and it's the most enjoyable moment, and one that, in my opinion, all the members of all the teams want to experience.

This is what I told Jeremy Burgess for years. Sometimes, in the official team, it was borderline if they didn't cry after a victory. In any case, they were totally cold. I told them “guys, you don’t realize!” You have become jaded by exceptional things. Life has meant that our winning percentage is not at all yours, but always try to enjoy these moments which are exceptional moments. In any case, when we find ourselves producing results which for you are poor performances, we are in paradise.” Afterwards, it's the nature of people, but even if we weren't lucky enough to have drivers who won every weekend, especially in the premier category, we will never be jaded. So what Johann is doing now is sublime and immense, but even if it becomes more frequent and he is regularly in the top five or in the top six, we will still savor it for its true value, and we will still enjoy these moments of incredible intensity. It's in our guts, it's in our genes. »

Is beating the official Yamahas an extra satisfaction?

" No. We can't say that we are happy to have beaten the official Yamahas. But it means to Yamaha “you can count on us.” The day you have a little problem, Johann Zarco and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team score 13 points for Yamaha in the manufacturers' championship. And if ever, at the end of the season, Yamaha is titled with four or five points, that will also be partly thanks to us. All of this is important because there was some tension with Yamaha in relation to the Suzuka 8 Hours. They would have liked Johann and Jonas to take part in the race. But they preferred to focus on this season because they consider it very important. It's not that we're not part of the Yamaha family, the proof is that we've done it in the past with Espargaro and Smith. But this season, Zarco and Folger are in great spirit, love their bike, and want to show Yamaha that they deserve the trust that has been given to them, as well as the great equipment that has been made available to them this year. And for that, you have to be focused on a goal. You can't spread yourself over different races, or multiple and varied test sessions. I see the pilots, and on Sunday evening, they are winnowed and emptied. We must respect that. They need to recharge their batteries for the next race which takes place 10 days later. So, it is very important for us to show Yamaha that we are all together, and that there are four bikes. It's always in our interest to have more bikes on the track, maybe with different specifications, four riders who have different styles, and maybe that way, for the factory, it can help them identify a problem or to understand why they are strong in this or that area in order to prepare for the future. »

It's Tuesday and you're still enjoying your best result of the year in Jerez. When will the little click occur that will make you forget this race and think of Le Mans?

“We can say that it has already started. When we finished the race and felt liberated, no longer tired from the weekend, I said to myself “what a great way to prepare for your French Grand Prix!” ". We already know that at the French Grand Prix, the public is always there and is super excited. What a great gift we gave them to make them want to come even more! And then straight after, at dinner in the evening, I said to myself “What the hell, tomorrow there's a practice session and they're still a little tired”. Because the drivers attack during a practice session. If you want to validate this or that solution, you have to do it as quickly as you can. So there, I was still very relieved when they finished, yesterday afternoon, after having done what had to be done. They had only driven in the midday/15 p.m. window which corresponded to the hottest time and the time of the race, to be able to compare. We could have left earlier in the morning to break a time but there was no point. Now, my two drivers have returned home, happy in their heads since the race went well, as did the tests. We must now manage all this pressure that there will be around Johann to allow him, as I already told you, to meet the expectations of his partners, the public and his fans, while leaving him the possibility of working like a normal Grand Prix. We will therefore do everything to ensure that he is well on the grid, neither tired, nor angry, nor stressed, to have the best possible Grand Prix. But it’s sure going to be complicated. Every day, I have requests by phone or email, for interviews, box visits or meetings with Johann. But, at some point, you have to select and say stop, because the final goal desired by everyone is for Johann to do a good performance on Sunday. But it is certain that there is a lot of tension, reflection and also apprehension. Because you want to succeed in this Grand Prix! This is THE Grand Prize! Once he's gone, we'll forget him, but first, you tell yourself that he's not like the others. »