Dominique Meliand: We should see a race with a lot of tension !

The rain is falling on Magny Cours but the weather forecast is rather optimistic for the weekend. After several crashes during practice, SERT and GMT confirm their favorite positions in first and second place on the provisional grid…

Due to the rain which fell on Magny Cours, a fairly sparse public attended the traditional visit to the stands. However, the weather should improve over the weekend, so that the race can run optimally for spectators despite the number of teams entered (48) down compared to previous years..

"The session in the rain, it must be taken as something constructive", philosopher Dominique Meliand, team manager of SERT, while his Suzuki n ° 1 took pole position in 1: 42.739 in front of the Yamaha n ° 94 of the GMT (1: 42.862) and the Suzuki n ° 2 (1: 43.590) . "We had minor damage, we went on the ground twice but that’s part of the game if we want to go to the end of the possibilities of the bike in the rain. My two main opponents, the Kawasaki n ° 11 and the Yamaha n ° 94, are very present and it will be necessary to count on the refereeing of the Honda … We should attend a race with a lot of tension, there is have lots of twists and a lot of stress for team bosses !"…

"This morning, for the first time, we were finally ready !", rejoices Christophe Guyot, the team manager of GMT 94 victim of a burglary in his workshop near Poitiers during the night from Sunday to Monday, while the trucks were ready to leave for Magny Cours:"we solved all our concerns and replenished all our spare parts stocks. The Austrian YART team with which we collaborate lent us two motorcycles and a mechanic and the Les 2 Roues dealer did not hesitate to take a new R1 out of its crate to deliver it to us by road! With the engine running in this way, we were able to prepare a second racing engine.".

Note the excellent performance of the Honda n ° 5 of National Moto, fourth time in qualifying in 1: 43.642 just ahead of the official Kawasaki n ° 11 (1: 43.651). "We are happy with our place on the grid", congratulates Christian Lavieille, team manager of the semi-official Honda:"we knew we had made progress but being in front of n ° 11 and also close to n ° 2, frankly I thought I was a little further behind! It’s a good omen for the race but over 24 hours, there are always hazards !"

As for the Greens, who took pole position in the rain this morning (5th time in combined practice), we take the Honda threat very seriously: "we will have to fight at all levels to stay in the rhythm", explains the team manager of the official Kawasaki n ° 11, Jean-François Gay,"because what we have seen is that the Honda has made good progress. There will therefore be an additional motorcycle to be reckoned with"…

To be continued … on Moto-Net !

Eric MICHEL

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