At the end of the last IRTA test session in Qatar, we once again find the two Monster Yamaha Tech3 riders both at the head of the Rookies and in the Top 10. Indeed, on a circuit that he likes, Jonas Folger is in eighth position, less than half a second behind Maverick Vinales, while Johann Zarco is positioned a tenth behind, in 10th place, on a track that he does not particularly like.
It is in this context of “job accomplished” that we collected the feeling of Hervé Poncharal, the boss of the French MotoGP team.
Hervé Poncharal : “Since 2001, that is to say since the year when Tech3 had two drivers in the premier category following Olivier Jacque's title in 2000, we had never done a winter testing campaign with just one very small fall without any consequences like this year. And that’s incredible! Just this little slip from Jonas in Australia and none from Johann. It's something that makes us happy, especially since it was done with fast times, because, whether in Valencia, Sepang, Phillip Island or there in Qatar, we are still often in the Top 10 and less than a second from the fastest.
It changes us and it's important, because it allows us to work in another dynamic, because, whatever we want and what we can say, and even if it's part of the game and we will obviously have to manage , a fall is always a step back. For example, if you take Maverick Vinales, who has always been systematically the fastest and who has not had a single fall, he is certainly in a much more favorable psychological position than his main opponent, Marc Márquez. In English, we say a Set Back; a fall is always a step back and difficulties to manage. In any case, for us, it went very well and, in fact, it allowed us to do a whole bunch of things that we usually didn't have time for. Because when you crash, you usually have to ride the bike again, especially in Qatar. And there, with the two drivers Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger, we did a complete race simulation on the last day, which is still very, very important for the driver, especially if he is a Rookie. When they return to Qatar, they will be able to say
“I did it, I know how the bike works after X number of laps”. So it’s something that, psychologically, will help them. And technically too, of course. But that's not all: thanks to the fact that we saved time since we didn't have any incidents, our two pilots did Flag to Flag simulations, that is to say motorcycle changes. They've done this several times, which is always interesting. We also did simulations of Q1 and Q2: enter the box, put on a tire and leave to break a time in the two laps.
We therefore tried to work not only to set a time but also to give the opportunity to our two drivers, who once again are Rookies, to better understand all the specificities of this category, since flag to flag, Q1 and Q2 do not exist in Moto3 and Moto2. So we worked well on that.
I saw that during the last hour, Pedrosa and Redding, who were at the bottom of the standings, made a fast lap. Well, that's very good, they did it while we had already stopped riding. But I think it wasn't our number one goal, and I'm very happy that apart from having a good time, since we're both in the second, we were able to do quite a lots of important things that we never had the chance to do until now. And that is also the fact that, no problem of falling, therefore a more serene atmosphere, therefore the pilots more open to doing things which are not necessarily profitable in relation to the time screen. And to focus only on this screen is a bit of a mistake, especially compared to these tests which are above all work sessions. »
So you take up the maxim “qui va piano va sano”?
" Yes ! So I sign that. Now, sometimes, I'm always a little too cautious and we also know that at a given moment, we have to unpin, that at a given moment we have to go there and that the margin of safety, there is none. see you ! Whether for the top guns or the others: in Grand Prix, you don't do endurance. You are not here to have margin! You have to let go and, given the overall level of the field grid, you will have a hard time saying that you are going to have a great performance while still keeping some on hand...
But in any case, during the winter tests, it's good to be able to work as we did this winter. These are ideal conditions and I want to thank and congratulate our two drivers, as well as the whole team who were smart enough to take advantage of all this to be able to do what was done, and I think this session in Qatar was really well conducted, and very constructive. »
How can we explain that two Rookies, who by definition have no MotoGP experience, and who are cautious because they don't fall, can be so fast? Is it linked to the Yamaha which is both easy to drive and efficient?
“Of course the Yamaha is a great package! But, and this is where I'm going to throw a little dig at Cal Crutchlow, because I saw that Cal had declared to certain media, and this was reported on the German media Speedweek, that Rabat was faster than Folger. So, I like Cal because he likes to create a little bit of controversy (laughs) and I have a lot of respect for Rabat because I know that he is still certainly far from his maximum potential following his fall that he made in Malaysia, but this kind of statement is still a little gratuitous! Since the first tests in Valencia, Cal has focused on the two Tech3 riders saying “yes, but if they do that, they are not good riders and it is thanks to the bike”. If you remember, he had already said it in Valencia (see here) and he said it again there, in Qatar. Rabat is faster than Folger? It says everything and says nothing but it is to say that the times of Folger and Zarco were somehow not great times because the Yamaha is a great machine. It's also a way of saying that he has a difficult bike, that we just have to see what Márquez does, and this... Well, he wants to keep his rating and get self-congratulate via comparisons, because if he talks about Rabat, it's to talk about him subliminally, that's his business. But I think it's a bit inappropriate because at one point he had a Yamaha and he never won a Grand Prix with it, although he did with a Honda. Well, afterwards, someone can tell me that the racing circumstances were not the same, but that is to say that with comparisons, we can say everything and its opposite. Cal Crutchlow makes these kinds of statements on purpose, he knows it will create controversy, but we love and adore him anyway.
But back to your main question. Yes, the Yamaha is a great machine, and it is certainly the best machine for a Rookie to learn the MotoGP category. Now, I am always wary of the brutal and firm assertions of people who have the ultimate and absolute knowledge. It's a machine that seems to be rather 'friendly' as we say in English, to be rather good everywhere, rather very homogeneous, very balanced, and that's what we can see from the outside. Now, to really be able to answer this question, the same driver would have to face 10 laps at the same time with the different machines in the championship. And that will never happen, so we know very well that there is an element of subjectivity in all of that. Yes, the machine is good: we saw the Yamahas which were 1, 2 and 3 on Saturday evening, so we cannot say that it is not good. Now, Folger had released the big attack... In Speedweek, he said that he was often above his limit. So the guys attack, whether it's Jonas or Johann. And it's not that easy, as we can see with Valentino who was a little below, especially in race pace. If it were that easy, there would be the four Yamahas in the first four places. Yes, the Yamaha is a great machine, but I also think that our technical team knows it well and is capable of handling it, and that our riders are good and work really well and intelligently with their team. But when we see where Paul Espargaro and Bradley Smith are this year compared to last year, and this is of course normal with a team that is just starting out, then yes, we really have a very good machine. »
