After having spoken to us in the first part of his interview of the first victories of Michael van der Mark and his teammate Alex Lowes in WSBK, as well as the world titles obtained by Lucas Mahias and Sandro Cortese in Supersport on their R6s in 2017 and 2018, Éric de Seynes, President, Chief Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Europe, and also Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, talks to us today about his competitors, MotoGP, and Johann Zarco.
Faced with an opponent like Kawasaki which concentrates its entire budget on Superbikes, with no presence – therefore no expenditure – in Grand Prix, isn't the fight unequal?
“No, I don't want to approach Kawasaki's commitment like that. In competition, if you start to have complexes, it is better to stay at home! To win it's not complicated, you need a high-performance motorcycle, at least at the level of the best competitors, you need a rider who knows how to exploit 100% of the potential of his bike and finally a team who believes in victory. Everything else is just incidental. “It is thanks to this philosophy and this simple ambition, which we share with our teams and our drivers, that we can be entered in so many championships with budgets which remain bearable for us at European level.
“It’s true that this often puts us as a “challenger” but I like this position… Winning like this makes the victory even more beautiful, because it is above all human! Look at the Dakar, in world MX, in Enduro, in speed, in Endurance, etc… you will always find this same approach to racing, this same integrity in the use of our budgets, this same loyalty to men, this same attachment to the very essence of the values of competition. »
BMW and Honda are increasing their efforts in World Superbike for next season, without entering – as was the case in the past – an official team. Is this an encouraging sign for the World Championship?
“Yes, I think our journey may have inspired other manufacturers. Our way of approaching this SBK World Championship in a way that is distinct from what we do in MotoGP seems right to me and I hope that the arrival of Honda and BMW will allow us to continue to grow the championship. In SBK we should have 36 riders on the grid, it's not MotoGP and anything that can contribute to achieving this objective pleases me. »
Next year we move on to 3 races in SBK, with the additional creation of a 10-lap sprint which awards about half the points to the first 9. Do you consider this development positive?
“Honestly, I’m not super enthusiastic about this new racing formula. I'm waiting to see how this goes before making a more formal judgment. I hope that this will not create too many additional risks, falls, or costs related to these.
“I can understand that this brings a plus for the show, the TV audiences and the public, but it must not derail the budgets of the private teams…Now, if I consider our drivers, all four of them are attackers who always assert themselves better in the race than in testing, so this should at least be interesting! »
What are Yamaha's objectives in 2019, both in Superbike and Supersport?
“In Superbike, we have to do better! It is for this reason that we must seek the crown of World Champion or Vice-Champion in both the Drivers and Manufacturers rankings. In Supersport 600, we must retain our driver and constructor titles. Finally in Supersport 300, we hope that the adjustments to the technical regulations will allow us to display a better balance of performance between the different bikes in the field and we will also aim there for the two Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles. »
Will Yamaha catch up (very little) and challenge for the MotoGP title?
“I know that our Factory team is working extremely hard towards this objective and am convinced that the continued efforts will materialize in the results. We have already been able to observe in the last GPs that our motorcycles and our pilots were there to seek victory, whether that be Maverick Vinales ou Valentino Rossi.
“The first winter tests also went rather well, including for our new satellite team SIC Petronas. We must keep in mind that since we have common electronics between the bikes, and unique tires, the gaps have been extremely reduced between the different teams. For 3/10rd of a second you can be at the top or considered to be in distress…
“It’s extremely violent, and it’s true that we had more difficulty than our competitors, in 2018, to be consistent in our performance from one circuit to another. Our sensitivity to grip, the asphalt of the circuit and the temperature of the track have handicapped us throughout this year and this is what we must correct.
“The difficulty comes from the fact that our bike is fundamentally good and we have to respect its own qualities. You only need to see the performances of Morbidelli and Quartararo for their first laps on the M1 to remain convinced. »
After supporting Johann Zarco as much as possible, is there any hope of seeing him one day return to the Yamaha fold or will he be replaced by Fabio Quartararo in your heart?
“Whatever the future holds, I will always remain a fan of Johann, of his talent and his qualities, of his track record. I regret not having been able to keep him in the Yamaha fold because I had done my best to obtain an even more efficient package for him in 2019. I am also disappointed because our personal history is long since his debut in GP , and it took us several years to finally be reunited sportingly thanks to Tech 3…
“Despite everything, I respect his choice which is both bold and justified by the status of official driver that he richly deserves. Finally, out of loyalty and conviction, Yamaha remains a partner of the ZF Grand Prix School structure and programs and I am very happy about it.
" Regarding fabio quartararo, I came into contact with him through our dealer in Nice, Jacques Onda, who has been following him since his childhood. I had offered to provide him with a training R6 since his first laps in Moto2, as I had done for Johann when he started in the category. In the same way, several times I went to congratulate him at the foot of the podium or in his box following a good qualification.
“That’s why, when his name started to circulate for the SIC team in MotoGP, I pushed to give him a chance. His background, his results, his experience and his age are indisputable assets. He has time ahead of him to build his experience in MotoGP, and this may be the first time that this has happened to a French rider.
“His debut has been exemplary and I know he has already won unanimous support within his team. Finding two French riders in MotoGP is an excellent thing for the influence of our sport among a large non-specialized audience. I will therefore follow Fabio's progress very closely and will always do everything in my power to support him in the most useful and effective way possible. »
Photos © Yamaha
