Sylvain won the FIM Superstock 1000 title twice with the BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK team in 2012 and 2013, then moved to the Superbike World Championship from 2014 to 2016, with a break in Stock 1000 in 2015. He was then attempted the adventure of exotic Superbike championships, in the United States then in the United Kingdom.
He recently made his return to World Superbike with a Ducati Panigale V4 R. of the Brixx Performance Ducati team during the tests which have just taken place in Misano.
How did your recent tests at Misano with the Ducati of the Brixx Performance team?
“I'm hesitating a little between very good and not very good, in the sense that I'm a little disappointed because the work we did was not rewarded by the times. But I hadn't been back on the racing bike for six months. »
“However, these tests were very positive because now I know what to work on. I fell twice during the second day* because I was trying to do what I was doing at the time. Even though I raced with this machine last year at Portimão and Magny-Cours, I never rode this bike feeling 100% physically. »
*Hence the colors of the different elements of the fairing in the photo above.
“Actually, I knew what to work on on the second day, because with Ducati and Aruba we actually have all the information and data acquisition from the two official riders. So we know – including me in the driving field – what to work on. It's very positive. »
“I still have to work on how to move on the bike without putting too much force on the front axle, especially when changing direction. And when I actually did that, I felt comfortable because the bike is very good. I felt confident and pushed too much on the front end, and as a result I lost the front end twice during testing. So I know what I need to work on, and now I just need to put it into practice. »
Did you discover the Panigale V4 R last year in Portimão then in Magny-Cours? What do you like about this bike?
“It’s a real racing bike!” It's unlike anything I've ever ridden before. This is truly a motorcycle that was entirely designed for competition. The connectivity with the throttle opening is excellent at the engine level, as is the responsiveness of the chassis, and also the smoothness of the engine. It's really a very good bike. »
You've suffered several pretty significant injuries in your career. Where are you physically now?
“Physically, I'm starting to get back to the level I was at before. I'm not quite 100% yet, but I'm not far from where I was before. »
Why did you and the Brixx team decide to leave the British Superbike Championship at the end of 2019 to compete in the World Championship this year?
“In the world championship, the official BMWs – including the one I drove – were prepared subcontracted by Feel Racing. Then with the cessation and departure of BMW, Feel racing became a service provider for Ducati, as had already been the case several years previously. They now work for Team Aruba. The relationships I had at BMW with Seraphim Foti and Daniele Casolari, who are the team manager and boss of the Superbike team, mean that we now have help, and that all the technical part is managed by Feel racing. »
“We thus have direct access to the official team and a wide open door to its structure. This is why we chose this solution, because in fact in BSB our team was completely new, which brought together people from Honda, from Kawa and from MV. No one had exactly the same vision of things, and especially no overall point of view. »
“The British Superbike Championship circuits are very specific and particular. For example, you go to Oulton Park, and you discover six different asphalts in the first corner! Hence the great importance of knowledge and experience of circuits for technicians. »
“And that’s what we were missing. For example during the first races we did last year in BSB, we had a problem with the clutch. When you have the reverse “up and down” beep, you no longer touch the clutch. Now when I arrived at Donington Park, for example, at the top of the climb, I went down two gears as if I were holding the clutch. So I told my technicians, who didn't understand. They were changing the clutch, and it was like that all weekend. In the end, we asked Ducati to help us. Ducati came in the penultimate or last race and they explained to us that we had to change a spring inside the clutch. It was necessary to put a harder spring, but we didn't know that. It was really just a matter of knowledge and experience. »
“In World Superbike, you don't have this kind of problem at all because you have the support of Ducati. In the English championship, it's every man for himself. Even the official team with Scott Redding, who won races and the championship, will never give you anything at all, even a screw, even a spring. »
“In the Superbike World Championship, when you need a part, you go to the warehouseman in the Ducati truck. He gives us the coin and puts it on our list. And that's all. »
What do you think of the BSB circuits?
“The BSB circuits and those of the World Championship have nothing to do with each other. The BSB is as hard as the World Superbike, but the World Superbike is easier on the circuits than the British. On the other hand, a rider who moves from British Superbike to world championship can immediately achieve good results. On the other hand, the opposite is not exact. You take a Michael Ruben Rinaldi or a Davide Giugliano for example, capable of making a podium in the World Superbike, when he goes to British he falls, he breaks, he hurts himself... and he stops the season. »
“The BSB is an extraordinary championship, but very special. On the other hand, the help and support we have from manufacturers in the Superbike World Championship makes a huge difference. That's what makes it so interesting. »
