VD53: A Frenchie in the USA. AMA Championship, Chapter 1, Austin

Last weekend, the first round of the American MotoAmerica championship was held in Austin, at the same time as the MotoGP.

Two of our pilots, Sylvain Barrier et Valentine Debise faced their competitors from across the Atlantic, the first in Superbike, the second in SuperSport.

We follow the second in particular after having worked with him for years in Grands Prix and even having managed one of these seasons in the French FSBK championship.

You can also find here all his reports of his American adventure which we are happy to report first.

See his entire 2016 season

After starting his 2017 season by participating in the Daytona 200 (see here), Valentin Debise was therefore in Texas to do battle, on the handlebars of his Suzuki, with his two eternal enemy brothers on the handlebars of their Yamahas: we take the same ones, and we start again!

Valentine Debise : » It’s really nice to have been able to do our race weekend at the same time as the MotoGP. This allows us to have more visibility on the championship. And also to see the friends hanging out in the GP paddock again. The only downside is our schedules which have been turned upside down like last year. We inevitably take a back seat to them. We had a free practice session on Thursday, qualifying on Friday, and a warm-up at 8 a.m. on Saturday to run our only race in the afternoon at 16 p.m. Needless to say, my days seemed endless to me (I don't like doing nothing).

It was difficult to manage how to approach the practice sessions. We had very little time, and therefore we had no room for error. I had a lot of adjustments to try to overcome the bike's flaws on this circuit. This bike behaves differently compared to all the other tracks of the year. The goal was to start the first rounds at the same pace as three weeks ago. In two laps, I was in the same tenth... From there, instead of trying all the tires one by one as I usually do, I took more time to try the different set-ups . I was happy with the bike in general, although still lacking in power compared to my competitors. We have progressed. My bike is faster than last year, but the others have also taken a leap forward! It's the competition, you will tell me... I will start second in the race.

I was pretty excited to make the first start of the championship year. It's always a good feeling to be on the starting grid, ready to do battle. Testing is good, but I'm here to make starts, that's the purpose of all the work done. The temperature having dropped by 15 degrees on the ground, I decided to go with the medium tire at the rear which will be less efficient, but which will last the whole race. Last year, I made the mistake of going with the soft when the track was at 31°. I had difficulty finishing the race in good conditions. This time the temperature was 26°, so the question didn't arise (the colder it is, the better the medium works. Don't ask me why, it's weird). I get a good start, I come out first. Quite quickly, a competitor overtakes me in the straight line. Seeing it faster than me, I decide to iron it immediately. We play this for three rounds. He can't get rid of me and I'm holding on. I feel good, but lack of grip on my front tire. I think he didn't use the same tire as me, and I see him faster on the exits, so I have to force a little more on braking to maintain the pace. I enter 1km/h faster in a double right and the bike goes down without warning.

The bike has nothing, I leave immediately, and after a few turns the red flag waves. I see my teammate further away in the gravel trap...

He put oil all over the track. That’s teamwork! Thanks to him who allows me to leave for the second start in my initial position! So I stop at the pit, the mechanics repair what is damaged. There's almost nothing, but it's always good to control the bike after a fall, for safety.

The second start is launched in a shortened procedure. Once again, I got the best start. I'm taking my time to regain confidence in the front tire. The rear grip is starting to be quite weak (during red flags, you are not allowed to change tires). A competitor overtakes me, I can do absolutely nothing against him this time. His choice of rear tire works well. But I tell myself that he will never last the distance. Another guy passes me, he struggles as much as me. We fight all race long, overtaking each other on every lap. Two laps from the end, I see that we are too far from the leader to catch up with him. I'm preparing my last lap. I know I have good speed in the last sector. I come out behind him on the home straight. I prepare to open my turns to come out well. He does the opposite by blocking all the doors, thinking that I will try to overtake him before the last turn. My choice fell on the last curve of the circuit. I placed myself perfectly and came out of the penultimate place very quickly. I shift slightly. I brake just after him without doing too much, which places my rear wheel level with his front wheel. In a way, I'm blocking it so that it doesn't cross the trajectory and pass me again when accelerating. It works pretty well. The bike slips quite a bit when I shift into second gear, but it's enough to cross the line to arrive in front of him, since it's not very far from the last corner.

I'm happy to start the season with a podium and to see that I'm performing well on a circuit which is not favorable to our bike, and moreover which is not my favorite (probably because I didn't win lol).

See you this weekend for the second race of the championship in Atlanta.

Don't hesitate to take a quick look at my page (Valentine DEBISE). I will post photos every evening starting Thursday.

Have fun! »