MotoGP Sepang J2 test: Hervé Poncharal's exclusive debrief “something really big”

When you interview someone you know a little, the tone, the silences and the set sentences sometimes say a little more than the simple words. And that's the impression we had this evening, talking with Hervé Poncharal back at his hotel: it seemed to us that the boss of the Tech3 team, although undoubtedly a little tired by emotions, was really very very happy with this second day during which Johann Zarco particularly shone, by keeping his remarks deliberately measured, on the one hand for the sake of modesty and on the other hand in the light of his experience which does not make him sell the bear's skin...

These are just our impressions and here is the report of this second day that he was kind enough to share with us.

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Hervé Poncharal : “I just arrived at the hotel and there is a downpour. This does not mean that it rained on the circuit because we are quite far away and the showers are very localized. We'll see tomorrow morning...
Today, everyone waited for the track to dry this morning and Uncini and Capirossi observed and studied the track a lot. As you wrote, they will do tests and if things do not really evolve favorably, they will have to make a new surface.

This did not prevent us, like everyone else, from having a good day, especially since, very often, when there is less time available, people are more concentrated. Of course, we don't like to twiddle our thumbs in the morning, but it was still a good day.
You know that I don't like to puff out my chest, but what Johann did today was something really big, because twenty minutes from the end, he had the second time, and when he finished what he had to do, he said “we're closing, we're closing”. And we closed the box.

You had to have the strength of character to do it because today, all the big names put pressure on themselves and the last quarter looked like a qualifying session, whether it was Iannone, or even Rossi who went round and round. , constantly stopping and starting, which must have cost him quite a bit of his tire allowance. They all wanted to be better placed, and above all, they were all a little surprised by Johann's performance. So, in the end, it was him who had the old-timer attitude.
First, it was Vinales who improved, then Iannone who did a launch lap, a timed lap and came home shaking his head; we could really see that he was in “a free-diving lap for a qualifying” mode. That said, the times they made, they made them. But I think it was really impressive the state of mind Johann had today and what he did. He could very well have asked for a tire in the last ten minutes, and I think he would have improved. There is the possibility, not of doing Iannone's time, but perhaps of gaining one or two places. But that wasn't the point. Especially not. We say it, and we do it too.

It was the same thing on the other side of the garage: Jonas worked well, without putting too much pressure on himself, and frankly, this evening at Tech3, we are really proud and happy, because despite everything, even if Jonas doesn't is "only" ninth, he is still ahead of Marc Marquez, and everything is done in a studious atmosphere, without trying at all costs to want to burst the screen by taking significant risks.

Yes I'm happy ! You know me and you know that I don't like to put myself forward and always remain reserved, but I'm really happy.
So it's clear that the first Grand Prix is ​​in Qatar in a few weeks, but I'm really impressed by the work of our two young drivers, in the way they work with the whole technical team, and this kind of 'osmosis. It's really a pleasure and it's been a long time since there's been this feeling and this kind of performance lap after lap. Moreover, this was pointed out to us at length by all the bosses at Yamaha who came to see our two riders and congratulate them. It's very hard physically these test sessions here, but when it goes like this, the weight of it all disappears. »