“It’s crazy that the nine guys have a real chance of winning the Array championship … but Marc is still the reference. So we’ll see the stage when he returns” – Hervé Poncharal on the 2020 MotoGP season so far.
After discussing the team’s first historic motoGP victory, the moment component of an exclusive interview with Red Bull boss KTM Tech3, Hervé Poncharal, covers other facets of the season, adding unpredictable action on the track, Marc Marquez’s injury, camera racing and whether consecutive occasions can simply continue in 2021…
Crash.net:
The first five rounds were really unpredictable, as 3 of the four winners had never won before this year, but do you think things will get better and the boys with more delight will start taking over?
Hervé Poncharal:
Evidently, the fact that “The Boss” – which is Marc – wasn’t here helped make the stage much more open.
Before the beginning of the year, if you had said, “Marc might not be here,” many guys would have predicted, “Okay, this is the year for Dovi.” Because he has been a finalist 3 times, he is the most experienced and the Ducati is a wonderful bike. Then Dovizioso would have been the favorite.
But I’ve supported the young pilots. For me, the long run has been “betting on youth” and you can see it with Brad, with Fabio, with Miguel.You don’t want several years in MotoGP; If you’re fast, you’re fast.
From time to time I have heard him say: “Give him more time, there is too much pressure, he has to learn, he is young.” Yeah, that kind of guy will be fine. But if you want to be a future motoGP world champion, you don’t want 3-4 seasons to be quick.
For me, other young people like Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir, Brad Binder, Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller, who still have a few seasons, are all in a position to win the rest of the year.more experienced guys like Dovi, Cal and Petrucci.
Crash.net:
What about Vinales?
Hervé Poncharal:
I don’t know what happened to Maverick because Maverick is a very fast driver, I’m surprised. It’s kind of a mystery because he’s definitely one of the most productive drivers in our championship and it’s hard for me to understand.
I don’t paint with him, so I can’t comment yet that it’s definitely a stage right now, but we still have a lot of races left and maybe Maverick is a double winner in Misano.
Crash.net:
Do you think the kids who have hoped to fight for the name with Marc absent, like Dovi and Vinales, would probably feel more pressure?
Hervé Poncharal:
I would say that in the spirit of Dovi or Maverick, because they were fighting Marquez in past years, when they saw marc injured in Jerez, they would probably have idea that “it’s going to be an attractive year for me.”While for all young people, their purpose is probably not to win the championship this year.
Crash.net:
At this point, perhaps young people have another mindset and do so in each and every career?
Hervé Poncharal:
I don’t think they’re under pressure; they can just faint, do the best they can, have fun, be informed as much as they can, but now they can also see that if they behave this way and push as they are, they can win.Races.
And the championship is so open that even Miguel, with two dropouts, not because of him, in five races, is in ninth place, but only 27 issues from the leader..
In addition, within this nine most sensible, you have KTM, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Ducati.It is charming and for the championship, not only have many drivers who can win, but can also win almost all the brands involved.
In some other motorsports, it’s so open.
Crash.net:
We’re talking about Marc, if he were a Tech3 driving force, would you advise him to have 100 percent compatibility and maybe concentrate on his return next year, or is it still vital for him to return this season?
Hervé Poncharal:
That’s a tough question! Me now, and I think that’s how Marc sees the stage and also HRC; they don’t need to see Marc come back until he’s in the most sensible way.Totally in a position to win.
Because when Mick Doohan returned to Brazil in 1992, he can walk a little, but he can still win the championship, so he can realize why he would try, even if he knows he’s not physically here to shoot well.
But today, what would be the point for Marc to come back unless he’s absolutely in compatibility and recovered?I don’t think Marc will get all 11 tracks back for a 5th position!He has nothing to prove, so if Marc comes back, he’ll have to come back as the most productive Marc Marquez we know, in the most sensible way and in a position to fight for victories.
The name is gone, but I’m sure he’ll be back in 2020, because even if you’re Marc Marquez and you’ve won so many races and so many championships, I think it’s long before the winter break.have at least some races where you can regain confidence to check “I’m fast.”Because there’s a lot on a pilot’s mind.
I’m pretty sure he’ll be back before the end of the year, but he has no explanation for hurrying.We know Marc’s still “The Boss” and he has nothing to prove.
I wish him a full recovery because he’s someone I have a lot of respect for, he’s our icon.So take your time, Marc, and come back when you’re in a position to show what you can do.
It will be attractive because, of course, the riders have taken a step forward, especially the young, some of them have won races and their bikes have also taken a big step forward.
But Marc is still the reference. So we’ll see when I get back.
Crash.net:
Speaking of 2021, Danilo Petrucci will have to feel even happier with his resolution to sign for KTM and Tech3. When he signed the contract, the RC16 had a bigger result in the second half of the sixth, now he had two wins and 3 podiums. .
Hervé Poncharal:
Of course, even though there were no races in 2020 when he pointed out, so Pit Beirer told me, when Danilo visited KTM and talked to Pit and Mike Leitner, it’s very transparent that he’s in a position to point out 100%, and everyone believes in the prospective and progression of KTM.
So I’m sure you’re satisfied with your decision, but for now you’re a Ducati driver, competing in the 2020 championship, and I’d like you to get more effects: fight for the podiums, fight for the first Ducati and have fun.
I don’t tell you too much right now because either we’re too busy and I don’t need to bother you, however, I don’t think 2020 has been a season so far when you’ve had a lot of fun.I don’t know anything else.
Crash.net:
As one of those who had permission to run the “closed door” arranged in accordance with Covid’s special protocol, how did this happen inside?
Hervé Poncharal:
So we have to do some things. When we talked before the season, we weren’t sure we had a race in 2020, so having already had five races, plus all that are to come, it’s already exceptional and, as we just said, the races themselves have been incredibly exciting..
We were all a little scared, I don’t mean, but worried and curious to see what the paddock would look like with the very strict protocol of Jerez.The first 2-3 days were a little in Jerez because we had to pass all the tests, keep the social distance, be careful all the time, stay in your area.But like everything else, you get used to it.
In Jerez, warmth was also a big problem, but I have to say that the 3 races in August – Czech, Austria, Austria – were quite simple to manage. Organization, controls, security and also groups already had a revel in protocol and so everything was much smoother.We’ve made wonderful progress.
It works very well now to be fair and we have become accustomed to dressing with a mask every day, being scanned and checking the temperature, dining with distance between us, etc.
Because at the end of the day, it’s all the details, the main thing is that we have to run.We need to do what we love.
Of course, it probably wouldn’t last forever. And it can’t last forever, we want the media to be there, we want the audience to be there and we want the sponsors to be there, because what works is the business style.
We “allowed ourselves” to have five years like this, but as a transition year, we’ve done incredibly well.
I think if you watch a football game with an absolutely empty stadium, with 22 guys chasing a ball, which is not very noisy !, you can feel even through television that it is unhappy and strange, strange to the crowd and emotion.
Of course, in MotoGP we also miss the crowd, the flags, the horns, the cheers, but when you stay in the races on the track, watching the pictures of TV like everyone at home, because you are 100 percent worried about what has happened.an intense and very open season, everything else.
I’ll also have to say that we’ll want media on the site, because there are things that can’t be done during a video call, but the way tv guys work, the way we do our reports and press meetings via zoom and have so many hounds behind their screens asking questions, is not ideal, however , the Covid scenario makes the global not ideal.
We would like to return to the above format as soon as possible.But so far controlled to give the right feedback to fans, the right data for the media and media can continue to work.
We try to make the most productive decisions to make things as smart as possible.As a means, you have to have an opinion on that, but I think you have access to groups and brokers, you’re still a component of the screen and you can type for your online page or your newspaper.Maybe not like you would on site, but you can still do your job.
Crash.net:
Written media is more favored than photographers, who cannot make their paintings remotely.
Hervé Poncharal:
We will have to perceive that if we do not have this protocol, however strict it would be, we would possibly no longer have races, I was watching the Tour de France and everyone is afraid, the same in Formula One.
So we don’t do it because we like it, we do it because it’s the only way to have our championship right now.
Crash.net:
And the next normal step will be in Misano, with some enthusiasts allowed on the track for the first time this season.
Hervé Poncharal:
They’ll have, I think, a maximum of 10, 000 enthusiasts a day.He’s already exhausted. Of course, they will have a special protocol and may not be able to access the paddock.They’ll be in bleachers that are securely and directly connected to the parking lot, it’s going to be interesting.I’m sure it’ll be great to be there.
I think Le Mans is also making plans to have something similar and we have heard, it is not confirmed, that Portugal would like to have 50,000, but Misano, Le Mans and Portimao will have spectators.
We want to examine and see how the viral scenario improves, we want to work with local government and make the resolution no matter what scenario we’re in.
Crash.net:
September is usually the time we get the first draft of next year’s calendar. Obviously this is not a general year and there is still a lot to discuss, but do you think it is imaginable that back-to-back races could continue on some tracks in 2021? Instead of missing events, or is the goal to go back to a general calendar format?
Hervé Poncharal:
It is to respond at this level because we do not have the cards in hand to decide, of course, the ideal situation would be to return to a general calendar with 20 races as planned for 2020.
Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to imagine. But we have to wait because we need to have as many careers as we can in as many countries as we can imagine.And we’d like the media, the fans, the hospitality to come back to us.
But this [Covid] is all that’s hard to control.Everyone has the idea that in July the virus was going to leave us alone and is now returning to many places.What winter’s going to be like, nobody knows.comes a vaccine? No one can say when.
So, producing a calendar now would be crazy. It would be easy to publish a reproduction of the calendar planned for 2020, but what would it mean if we canceled part of it until November?
So I think we still have to wait a bit because there are too many unknowns at the moment that are beyond our control.
What I can answer is that followed on the same circuit, absolutely new to Formula 1 and MotoGP.Honestly, for me, it worked very well. It’s very exciting because we had absolutely other races.copy of the first.
Of course, if you’re very fast in the first race, you won’t be the last one right now, but we’ve learned a lot.I mean, I hope it’s appealing to the public and the media, but technically, there’s a lot you can do to better perceive your motorcycle and for factories to expand cycling.
Because when you’re done with the first race weekend on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and you’re about to have a smart setup, then you’re in a position to check anything else and take on a little more threat on FP1 or FP2.from the time of the race weekend if the weather is stable.
So the back-to-backs on the same circuit are appealing for us technically.Most of the technicians and riders I spoke to liked it, even even although before the get started of the championship there were a lot of negative guys.So that has changed.
I know financially that it doesn’t make sense, however, if fitness forces us, we’d be happy to do it again next year.We’ll see what he’s got.
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