Attacking Kawasaki in Superbike and Supersport was like trying to climb Everest in a T-shirt and sneakers. Not impossible, but with little chance of success. This did not deter Eric who, like Don Quixote, mounted his faithful steed and attacked the opponent: on his R1, Michael van der Mark, who had never won a WSBK race in 88 starts, achieved the double this year at Donington , before his teammate Alex Lowes won his first race in the category at Brno for his 117th start. Added to this were the world titles obtained by Lucas Mahias and Sandro Cortese in Supersport on their R6s in 2017 and 2018, along with the manufacturer's title. It was the end of a series of 12 titles (drivers + manufacturers) for Kawa since 2015 in SSP and WSBK. Éric de Seynes is the President, Chief Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Europe, and also Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. How did he bring Yamaha back to the top? This is what he explains to us here.
Was domination of the Supersport category with the R6 (4 world titles in 2017 and 2018) difficult to achieve?
“Winning in competition, and particularly in a World Championship, is never easy. This level of motorcycle competition must be respected, and that is why you must put all the assets on your side. Even though we are a manufacturer, we have financial budgets that are reasonable, and not unlimited. I am also extremely vigilant to ensure that they remain so, because it is the best way to preserve them and ensure that our commitment to competition remains in the long term.
“I love racing and I believe deeply in its values. I don't know a better territory to demonstrate the performance of the motorcycles we sell to our customers, but above all to surpass ourselves, share and develop our unique human values around motorcycle passion and the search for performance.
“To come back to your question, the 2017 and 2018 titles were not that difficult to obtain and this for three reasons: First of all the YZFR6 is surely the best bike in the field, originally it already allows performances wonderful. It is no coincidence that it has always been the training bike of Johann zarco when he raced in Moto2 and if it has remained a reference on the grids of the 600 national championships since its introduction 20 years ago! When the new model came out in 2017, it was obvious to me that we had to return to World 600 Supersport.
“Then the drivers, since 2014 I was close to Lucas Mahias in whom I always believed. I offered him an official World Superstock 2016 handlebar for the 1000 season which he refused, preferring to stay in 600 in a private team. This went badly, and we agreed with Christophe Guyot that he would join the GMT94 and could win his first world title in endurance in 2016. At the same time, he successfully completed a few rounds in the STK1000! From then on, I had him at the top of my list to lead our return to 600 WSS. The choice of Federico Caricasulo was also imposed by his youth and his talent.
“Finally, the GRT team was chosen. We knew its owner Filippo Conti, who is a passionate man of his word. He had achieved great things with MV Agusta and was open to changing brands, we quickly came to an agreement and worked a lot. The basis of the bike was excellent, but we had to relearn the intricacies of engine preparation and electronics. “Finally, when you return to a World Championship with a new bike, you have to relearn the basic settings of the machine adapted to each circuit configuration, which your competitors already know. This puts a lot of pressure on the tests, which are therefore always too short! The season was therefore intense, punctuated by very beautiful human and sporting moments, and ended perfectly with the manufacturers' and drivers' titles in 2017 as in 2018! »
Rather than a single official team, as was the case in the past, Yamaha currently supports two teams in both Superbike and Supersport. Why this choice ?
“This choice goes back to the very essence of our commitment to the Superbike World Championship. For me, this championship represents a fantastic sporting opportunity for riders and teams who do not have the financial means to tackle the MotoGP pyramid. They can find there a field to demonstrate their talent which can allow them to one day access MotoGP like Mick Doohan (winner on Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship in 1988, before moving on to GP 500), Colin Edwards, Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow or Loris Baz again recently.
“Finally, for a manufacturer, this championship allows it to demonstrate the true sporting and performance qualities of its models and as far as Yamaha is concerned, this corresponds well to our DNA. The YZFR3, R6 and R1 of today are the TA125 and TZ 250/350 or 750 of forty years ago.
“In fact, it is really the MotoGP World Championship which has evolved and moved closer, in its philosophy, to automobile F1, putting unique prototypes on the track, which are extremely expensive and complex to implement. It's good to represent the ultimate showcase of our technology, but this elitism bothers me for the good health of our sport. We must ensure that we maintain World Championships which maintain a certain accessibility, with budgets that are still manageable and which do not reserve access to victory for those who have the most financial means.
“For me, as for Dorna, this is the whole meaning of the pyramid of the Supersport 300, 600 and Superbike 1000 championships, and it is for this reason that I did not wish to recreate one or more “Factory” teams. What is the point of poaching the best electronics engineers, chief mechanics, private team preparers, of investing in seedlings and hospitality when they exist in already professional private structures? Why should a manufacturer come and destabilize what certain teams have spent years building, out of passion and commitment? I do not want Yamaha to enter into direct competition with the teams who trust our machines, our brand. This is why our return to SBK was made in total association with private teams that we chose: Crescent in 1000 and GRT in 600, but also in STK1000 and Supersport 300 where our BluCru program came to support many teams.
“If I look at the sporting results of the last two seasons, we can be satisfied with the results as well as the spirit in which we obtained them: 3 manufacturers' and drivers' World Champion titles out of 4 in 300, the 4 possible titles in 600 and 3 times on the podium in the general classifications of drivers and manufacturers in SBK.
“For the coming season, we will have “Supported Teams” in 300, in order to best follow our young BluCru drivers including the young French Andy Verdoia, Hugo de Cancellis and Romain Doré. In 600, the leading support teams will surely be the GMT94, with Jules cluzel and Corentin Perolari, or the Kallio team which won the title with Sandro Cortese this year. Finally, we will have two teams in SBK 1000 with Crescent and GRT. Our four drivers: Michael Van der Mark, Alex Lowes, Marco Melandri and Sandro Cortese have a lot of potential and I am very happy to stay loyal to Michael and Alex who brought us our first victories this year and also to have been able to increase Sandro Cortese in SBK, which represents a real responsibility for me.
“It is important that the 600 World Champion is supported to reach the higher category. This is what happens in Moto2 and MotoGP every year, and I want Yamaha to participate in this effort in Supersport 600 and SBK 1000. I had suggested to Lucas that he could benefit from this possibility for this 2019 season but he preferred stay in 600 and I respect his choice, even if I regret it. »
What does Eric think of his opponents in Superbike and Supersport, of Yamaha in MotoGP, and of Johann Zarco? You will find out tomorrow on our site by reading the second part of his interview !
Photos © Yamaha
