Winner of 20 races in the Supersport World Championship, Jules was on the podium 47 times and achieved 21 pole positions. He also won at Silverstone in Moto2 in 2010 – the first year of this category in Grand Prix – on a Suter from the Forward Racing team. Definitely versatile, Cluzel also placed second at Silverstone in the Superbike World Championship in 2013 on an official Suzuki, 0.6s behind Loris Baz, and in front of a beautiful skewer composed of Eugene Laverty, Johnny Rea, Leon Camier, Sylvain Guintoli, Tom Sykes, Marco Melandri and Carlos Checa.
Third in the Supersport World Championship last year, Jules is currently third in the provisional standings after the Phillip Island race. He is once again part of the GMT 94 Yamaha, the team of Christophe and Rémi Guyot, with again as teammate, Corentin Perolari.
How are you experiencing the first months of your daughter Kimie, whom you and Petra had last February?
" That's great ! Luckily for us, confinement was positive because I was able to spend time with both of them. I got to see the first months of his life up close and it was really cool. »
“We were also lucky to live this period at a time when we had nature around us. It was a stressful time – it's always a stressful time – but we were still a little bit lucky. »
How do you manage your time during this complicated health period?
“I practice a lot!” I really took advantage of it to try to further improve the recovery that I had to do in my legs, for example, with the blocking of my ankle a little over a year ago. »
“I didn't have any particular concerns, but I took the opportunity to buy a connected home trainer. It really did me a lot of good. I did a lot of kilometers, more than 3 km in two and a half months. »
“So I gained a lot of strength in my legs. That's what I was missing a lot, and now I feel better. I take the opportunity to do trials and other things like that. It allows me to take my mind off things and touch on something else. »
“I'm trying to keep myself busy by spending time with my daughter, doing things, and building up some energy before we start the season again.
Were you surprised by the competitiveness of Andrea Locatelli, winner at Phillip Island in his first World Supersport race?
" Oh no ! (laugh) His team* since last year has been making our lives complicated. Caricasulo and Krummenacher, I have known them for years, with different bikes or with the same bikes. »
*Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team, the team of Randy Krummenacher (World Champion) and Federico Caricasulo (vice-World Champion) in 2019.
“We were surprised last year. We couldn't do much. And this year, I didn't expect... Yes, in fact, maybe I expected it to go back to somewhat normal with the rule change. But ultimately no, they still have the same advantage they had last year. And we don’t really understand how…”
Relatively old bikes like the Kawasaki ZX-6R and the MV Agusta F3 675 are still performing well, as seen in Australia where Randy Krummenacher on the F3 qualified second, 0.1s behind Locatelli, and Mahias on the Kawasaki third right in front of you. You entered the race on the third step of the podium, just behind Raffaele de Rosa on his MV. How do you explain such longevity?
“It’s simple: it’s the rules! They equalized the level of the motorcycles, lowered the level of the Yamaha to raise that of other brands. So they give advantages to others to level the performance of the motorcycles. »
“The problem with this way of doing things is that it depends on the year, which riders are on which bikes. And that's only half right. It's a shame for us, I think, but the problem is that there is this advantage over the Bardahl, which means that it costs other teams, like Kallio's, us and others. They lower the performance of the Yamaha and we suffer the consequences. »
During the first race of MotoAmerica championship, an official Suzuki GSX-R600 qualified second – ridden by Sean Dylan Kelly for the M4 Ecstar Suzuki team – then finished on the podium in the race. Are you surprised that this bike doesn't race in the World Championship?
“It is a shame that not all manufacturers are present in the world championship. That would be very positive. »
“This would make it possible to offer spectators a richer and more varied platform. And there would be a greater variety of hardware for drivers and teams to choose from. This would also be a plus for television broadcasting. »
How do you envisage the resumption of the World Championship from July 31 to August 2 in Jerez?
“I’m super excited and very happy! We will have a few days beforehand for our preparation. The pressure will increase crescendo, and we will try to progress during the few days that we will spend. »
“Personally I will continue to work as I did during the three months of confinement, to improve myself in order to progress as well. »
“Then finally we are going to give everything on the bike on August 2. It's going to be a very intense period because we're going to move on. We will be in Portugal the week after, and then we will continue again at the end of August. It’s very exciting to know that we’re finally going to get back on the bike! »
Provisional schedule:
August 1 and 2: Jerez
August 8-9: Portimão
August 29 and 30: Aragón
September 26 and 27: Misano
October 3 and 4: Magny-Cours
October 17 and 18: Barcelona?
Photos © Yamaha, GMT 94, Jules Cluzel personal