Taking advantage of the drivers' winter break and less news, we offer you a gallery of the main French-speaking personalities of the paddock who, each, represents one of the countless cogs essential to the sumptuous spectacle that is the Grands Prix.
We often hear about the Spanish armada or the Italian troops, but you will discover that the French-speaking colony, rather numerous and very united, has no reason to be ashamed of the comparison.
In the light or more in the shadows, verbose or more discreet, each of these men shared with us with pleasure their world and their news, always with the same passion as a common denominator.
Little by little, you will be able to know a little better who are, and what is going on today, for example Claude Michy, Piero Taramasso, Hervé Poncharal, Eric Mahe, Nicolas Goubert, Guy Coulon, Christophe Bourguignon, Florian Ferracci, Christophe Léonce, Marc van der Straten, Miodrag Kotur, Alain Bronec, Jacques Hutteau, Michel Turco, David Dumain, Michaël Rivoire, and many others.
This long series of interviews will first be broadcast on the official MotoGP.com website in a refined version, before being accessible here in their raw version.
So, when the Grands Prix resume, you will be almost unbeatable on the French-speaking part of a particularly cosmopolitan paddock...
Nicolas Goubert, MotoE Executive Director at Dorna Sports
What is your year of birth?
"1963".
How did the young Nicolas Goubert develop a passion for motor sports?
“Actually, from my father who was passionate about cars, like many people in the family. I was born in Alès, and it’s a region where there are a lot of rallies. My father took me to see them and we also watched the races on television. Afterwards, he bought me a motorbike as soon as I could ride one, when I was eight or ten years old. It all started from there… "
What are the main points of your career?
“I started working at Michelin in 1988, where I took care of a group at the car testing center. Then I had quite a career with Michelin, most of the time in competition from 1993, both in cars and motorcycles. I stayed there until the end of 2017, still in competition being involved in WRC, WEC, MotoGP to name the main motorcycle disciplines, before joining Dorna Sports at the start of 2018 to take care of launching the MotoE motorcycle championship electrical. »
Throughout this journey, what were the most difficult moments?
“I only kept good memories (laughs). There are of course times that are more difficult than others but I have been incredibly lucky because I have always done what I dreamed of doing when I was a child. So I consider myself truly privileged. »
Were there any particularly strong moments that brought you to tears of joy?
“The best memory, generally speaking, was beating the other tire manufacturers with whom we were competing when I worked for Michelin. Beating them through teamwork was our greatest satisfaction. It was very rewarding. »
“I'm thinking in particular of an edition of the Suzuka 8 Hours, in 2002 or 2003. At the time, this race was more important for Honda than the MotoGP world championship, and we were also starting to do tests every month. of March for a race which took place in July. Honda, to increase its chances or minimize the risks, divided its motorcycles between Dunlop and us. We could therefore benchmark ourselves with the Dunlop-shod Hondas, which were often fast bikes with very successful Japanese riders at Suzuka. And that year, we were particularly in difficulty during the four practice sessions which preceded the race. At the last second, during the fifth test session, we found a new architecture that suited extremely well and that we had been working on for about 18 months. The situation was tense because we hadn't found anything conclusive during the first four test sessions, and, in the fifth, we only had one tire with this new construction to try! There were 10 days left before the race when we started making a few units, and they arrived in Japan in dribs and drabs during the week of the race. We won the race quite easily because this tire was really clearly superior to what we had brought so far and very clearly superior to the competition. That day really remains a very fond memory for the many people who worked internally on this subject! »
Can you take stock of this 2019 season?
“Following the Jerez incident, the MotoE season started three or four months late. But ultimately, after this difficult start to the season where all of our equipment went up in smoke, we were very satisfied to be able to really start that same year, as well as to have, despite the difficulties, practically kept our commitments: the championship took place and we did six races. So, even if we started a little late, the main thing was that it all happened this year. »
“Our goal was to show that watching an electric motorcycle race could be as exciting as watching a traditional motorcycle race. And I think we demonstrated it! The attitude of quite a few people in the paddock changed from the moment they saw the first race. At the beginning, people were a little skeptical, which was normal, but from the moment they saw the fight that was happening on the track, they evolved and it was over. This concerns at least the internal part that the paddock represents, because afterwards, the difficulty remains to make yourself known to the general public. This will obviously take time because we only had four race weekends, and even if we can benefit from a whole infrastructure and the presence of the media and television cameras from Dorna thanks to the MotoGP weekends , it necessarily takes time to make yourself known and reach a large audience. But we are patient! »
What are the prospects for 2020?
“We will of course continue to grow the discipline in 2020.”
“The season will start in Jerez and end in Misano. We will no longer go to Germany but we will go to the Netherlands, and we will have an extra weekend of racing, making a total of 5 weekends. Over the season with the last weekend which will include two races, i.e. 5 race weekends and 6 races. (Jerez, Assen, Red Bull Ring, Misano and Valencia) »
“Regarding the weekend format, we will keep the one used in Austria this year, which included three free practice sessions. Friday will include sessions 1 and 2, Saturday session 3 and qualifying, which is still in the superpole format, then a race on Sunday morning. In Misano we will have a race on Saturday and the race on Sunday morning. It should be noted that the races will include an additional lap due to the use of a rapid charger on the starting grid which will allow the final charge after the formation lap. »
“Before the first race, we will also have two three-day testing sessions in Jerez: one in March and one in April. »
“As far as hardware is concerned, here are the main developments:
- Enel is finishing the development of specific equipment: solar panels, the two types of chargers which will plug directly into the circuit's electrical network, which will no longer require generators, etc. All this will be in place for the start of next season
- In terms of motorcycles, the already very high engine torque will increase by around 10% at speeds below 100km/h. Other improvements are also being developed. Michelin will work on the tires, and Öhlins will work on the adjustments of the front fork to optimize damping in the braking phase. »
What is your daily means of transportation?
“I have an old Honda motorcycle that I brought back from Japan, but I rarely use it in winter! On a daily basis, I drive a Honda CRX. »
In the same series, find for the moment the interviews ofHervé Poncharal, Claude Michy, Piero Taramasso, Christophe Bourguignon, Eric Mahe et Marc van der Straten.
