14-19 – GP d’Aragón – Christophe Ponsson ousted by Jordi Torres at Avintia –

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Christophe Ponsson ousted by Jordi Torres at Avintia

14-19 - GP d'Aragón - Christophe Ponsson ousted by Jordi Torres at Avintia -

While the Avintia team announces that it will drive the Spanish Jordi Torres to the GP of Aragon this weekend alongside the Belgian Xavier Simeon, the French Christophe Ponsson recalls that he has signed a contract for four Grands Prix to replace by Tito Rabat, still convalescent… Explanations.

Friday September 14th, the Reale Avintia Racing team announces that "Jordi Torres will ride for the team this weekend for the Grand Prix of Aragon and for the other races that Tito Rabat will not be able to compete in". More precisely, the Catalan will take the handlebars of Xavier Simeon’s Ducati GP16, while the Belgian will benefit for the second time from the GP17 in Rabat, still absent due to his injuries to his right leg..

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Except that Christophe Ponsson, who had been called by Avintia to ride in, claims that he has signed for four Grands Prix: San Marino, Aragon, Thailand and Japan! According to the French, Jordi Torres would have been imposed by Dorna, promoter of the Moto Grands Prix, for reasons of nationality.

GP of San Marino, GP of Aragon, GP of Thailand and GP of Japan

The very next day, the young French rider published a press release to recall that he had signed "a 17-page contract which provides, without an exit clause, that I ride in MotoGP in Misano, Aragon, Thailand and Japan".

14-19 - GP d'Aragón - Christophe Ponsson ousted by Jordi Torres at Avintia -

"I would like to point out that at the present time (September 15, Editor’s note), I have still not been officially informed by the Team that it is terminating this contract, except for the fact that yesterday afternoon at 4.30pm during my training with Ruben Xaus, the boss of Team Real Avintia called Ruben to tell him that I will not be driving in Aragon, the Dorna having imposed a Spanish driver on him! "

"Ruben Xaus reminds him that it is not possible because I have a contract for four races", continues Christophe, but "the boss of the team replies that it is largely because of Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller, who insisted and mounted the other pilots to exclude me ".

The two pilots were in fact not tender towards Avintia, the Briton even speaking of … "It’s good to give someone an opportunity, but when you see how his day went, it t is dangerous enough for him to be on the track with us, ”summed up Crutchlow after qualifying for years to criticize the rookie in MotoGP. "He’s doing his best, I don’t blame him and he doesn’t need others to hit him".

Christophe Ponsson recounts the follow-up to this telephone interview between his manager and the boss of the Avintia team: "he explains in fact that the MotoGP riders imposed on the Dorna this week a commission with immediate effect which would be called GPC (Grand Prix Commission). which would involve MotoGP riders in the choice of replacement riders! I remind you that the creation of this Commission was made after my integration into Moto GP and my contract, I am trying to assert my rights and the Team boss tells Ruben that ‘he insisted on Dorna telling them "but how do I do with Ponsson since we are in contract for four races", he continued by telling her that Dorna replied that he had nothing to do with it and that was his problem! "

"Disappointment and disgust"

"A mixture of disappointment and disgust invades me to the point of wondering if I will not definitely stop this sport!", Concludes Christophe while Ruben "leaves, telling me that he will try to understand what is happening happening, it seems so unrealistic, and he reminds me later "…

"At around 6:00 pm, I saw the announcement of Jordi Torres at Avintia, of which it was announced that Team Avintia would have contacted Torrès", continues the pilot. "Here is how they all managed to prevent me from doing my three other contractual Grand Prix! At the time of this press release, I have no more explanation than that to give you. I will now ask official explanations because I need to understand these low blows ".

14-19 - GP d'Aragón - Christophe Ponsson ousted by Jordi Torres at Avintia -

"In Misano, all those MotoGP riders who kept praising that MotoGP was the highest motorcycle competition in the world that could not let young riders like me arrive, according to them inexperienced, well I’m not sure that this MotoGP institution has taken good care of its image by quickly making a commission on gas at the request of a few riders to get out of it! It’s a bit rider and MotoGP has not grown from that! In fact, I thought that this kind of small arrangements were practiced only in small private races "…

"In the evening of this Friday, Ruben Xaus confirms to me that there is nothing more to do," said Christophe Ponsson, wondering: "Jordi Torrès has not been riding for two months, he was available for So why did Team Avintia not take it for Misano? I would like to point out that I would never have agreed to sign a MotoGP contract only for one race without doing any tests beforehand! If I accepted to meet this challenge and sacrifice my Spanish championship, it was precisely because the contract provided for four races without an exit clause and because Team Avintia had told me that depending on Tito Rabat’s state of health, I might do a 5th, 6th or even the last 7 rounds of the season! I took the Misano round for my first MotoGP tests because I knew that behind I still had three Grand-Prix to progress and demonstrate that I had my place in the queen category "…

"One race, maybe two"

In the meantime, Jordi Torres – who rode in Moto2 from 2010 to 2014 with several podiums and a victory at the 2013 German GP, ​​before heading to World Superbike – is delighted to ride this weekend in Aragon. "I thank the team for this opportunity, I am excited but also terrified but it is always a challenge to ride a MotoGP for the first time. It will be a unique experience, which I will tell my grandchildren later! , I can’t wait to try this bike and see how I do ".

"I know that the level is very high and that in a weekend it’s difficult to assimilate everything to be fast, but I want to learn as much as possible and take advantage of this experience", predicts the Catalan driver, currently 12th in the Superbike World Championship on MV Agusta. "I know the team very well, I’ll try to give my all and see what comes out. It’s more difficult than people think, but I’m going in a positive frame of mind. I thank my manager for his job and MV Agusta for allowing me to ride in Aragon. For now it is only for one race, but there could be a second. And above all, I wish Tito a speedy recovery because he did not deserve this bad fall, but I know he will come back quickly because he is a warrior ".

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