In 2024, the French Valentine Debise finished 4th in the world championship World SBK Supersport on a Yamaha R6 from the Evan Bros team. However, he was not renewed in his Italian team and had to look late for a solution for 2025.
In the first part of this interview, he takes stock of his 2024 season, before discussing the future in this second part…
We saw the message you posted on Instagram. In fact, we'll put it in the article, because you explain a bit about your disappointment and the combination of circumstances that made you think you were going to return to Evan Bros, but then you didn't, even though you had already refused a lot of offers elsewhere. So you had to turn around and you ended up with Renzi Corse who, let's remember, doesn't have much experience in the World Championship, since it's a team from the Italian championship that did the European season last year, that is to say all the races except one outside of Europe, with Simone Corsi. They won the European championship, but with not many points compared to you. And so they are launching themselves this year for the first time in the World Championship, that is to say for all the races of the season.
You did some tests in Jerez with them, switching from a 4-cylinder in-line that you have been used to for years to an Italian V2: what can you tell us about these tests?
"Yes, well first of all it's cool that the team had, let's say a little thanks to me, access to the world championship, because normally Dorna had required them to continue in Europe, and since I joined the team, they gave them passage to the world championship with a little freight to transport the bike to Australia. So that's nice, especially since there are the official tests there, so it's good to be there to mingle with the others and see where we are, and establish a plan of attack once back from Australia depending on what went well or badly. And then, it was great to have scheduled tests early enough, to make initial contact with the team, understand the bike, understand the team too. They are Italians but they don't have the same way of working as last year. Well, I didn't expect anything crazy, because I think it still takes a bit of time, especially since it's only from next year that the teams will have access to the right Ducati parts, especially the exhaust line which gives a huge gain in engine power. And that's why we saw big gaps between the 2 official bikes and the rest of the Ducatis this year. So I tried the 2024 bike, and the 2025 will be at the beginning of January. For the moment, the times weren't very fast, but let's say that I didn't expect much better anyway. In terms of riding, it still takes time to adapt, and I'm not here to force like crazy, just to quickly see where I am: I'm first understanding the situation, understanding the bike, understanding the team. So we've already established a small base of settings despite everything. Well, it's not a base of settings that suits me perfectly but it can't suit me, in the sense that I also have to understand what the bike wants, that I adapt my way of riding the bike. So there is a natural path to be taken between the bike settings and the riding settings.
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The Yamaha and the Ducati are not really comparable, but what surprised you the most about this bike? The geometry, the weight, the power, the torque?
"Well, first of all, the chassis is much more rigid, since it's a load-bearing chassis, with a small part on the front that is bolted to the engine, compared to the traditional chassis that we have on Japanese motorcycles. And also, since there is a surplus of torque, we can afford to adjust the power delivery much more finely, and suddenly the bike is really pleasant to accelerate. At the limit, it's as if there was Traction Control, the bike is really easy and understandable when accelerating, and that's really a big strong point. Afterwards, on the other hand, it's the way of making it turn that is really different, and suddenly you have to adapt. Afterwards, lifting the bike like crazy, well I tried but I don't think it's really the right solution, because when I saw the guys in front, when they were riding fast, they tended to take speed into the corner, like with the R6. So there you go. Also, what's most surprising is that since it's a 950, they put the rev limiter really really early, so as soon as you come out of the corner you have to change gears. So, I was changing a lot of gears in one lap, compared to the R 6 where you have a much larger range of use. In fact I thought it was narrow, but in the end this one is really narrow (laughs). All that, these are things that you have to adapt to, but in the end it didn't really block me, so I wasn't shocked (laughs)."
Given what you have seen so far, which is not much, what would be a realistic goal for 2025?
"For now, let's say that if I had the choice, I honestly don't know if I would have chosen to go on a Ducati, but we can see that there are really 2 bikes that stood out and worked really well, while the others weren't working very well. So in view of what I've been able to observe, if I gradually manage to get closer to the top 5 and why not make a few podiums during the year, that would already be great. I think that you shouldn't set your goals too high so as not to be disappointed and not give up. But there you go, I think that you're going to have to be patient and... you're going to have to be patient, you know (laughs). There you go."
So you see yourself rather in regression in terms of results…
"Well, what we see today is that when you change teams and bikes, it still takes a lot more time than before, in the sense that despite everything it's a championship where the level has increased a lot over the last 3 or 4 years. We don't see guys arriving like that anymore, and winning everything at once, it always takes a little time. So last year, I changed teams, but not bikes, so it's still a lot easier and despite everything it still took a few races before it worked. Now, by changing everything, it can take more time than last year. So that's why I plan to ride a lot more this winter, within the limits of my financial capacity. I'm in the process of building a replica bike of the team's, to try to optimize and put the odds on my side. Afterwards maybe we'll get to Phillip Island and we'll patch everything up (laughs), but being realistic, I think it's better to take the time to have a good understanding of the bike and for the team a good understanding of my demands, to be able to perform, and after that it would be good to aim for good results in the 2nd year."
In the 2nd year, not even in the 2nd part of the season?
"That means that in the second part of the season, we should stack up a podium or two, and then have a good winter and gradually increase our strength."
Valentin Debise Supersport 2025
Valentin Debise Supersport 2025
Valentin Debise Supersport 2025
Valentin Debise Supersport 2025
