MotoGP – Interview with Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati rider in MotoGP –

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Interview with Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati rider in MotoGP

MotoGP - Interview with Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati rider in MotoGP -

By integrating Team Alice, Sylvain Guintoli thought he would open up radiant horizons: with a motorcycle and top tires, plus the support of an experienced team, the French could be optimistic! But after five races, the results are bitter… Interview.

After a season in Yamaha – Dunlop within the Tech 3 team last year (read), Sylvain Guintoli was contacted by Ducati and Luis d’Antin. In view of the performances of the best beginner 2007, the managers of the factory decide to give him an unexpected boost: to ride with the world champion package, alongside Toni Elias, in the "B" team of the Bologna firm !

Persistent, hardworking and determined, the 25-year-old rider seized his chance with both hands and discovered a team with a well-run organization and proven professionalism, but above all a Ducati wearing Bridgestone with a strong temperament: Capirossi and Barros’ They broke their teeth there in 2007 and this year, it is not Marco Melandri (Stoner’s teammate in the official team) or Toni Elias who will say the opposite…

After the euphoria of the first months, disillusionment now lurks in the English exile: unable to find his marks on the GP8, the one who started in GP 250 in 2001 is only 17th overall, with five small points scored in five races … Worse: on some circuits, its results and times are lower than those achieved with the Yamaha in Dunlop…

How to explain such a finding? What are the concerns encountered with the sulphurous Ducati? This is what Site tried to understand with the smiling Frenchie, he met just after the second practice session during the French Grand Prix..

Site: Sylvain, what are your impressions after these free practices ?
Sylvain Guintoli : To tell the truth, for the moment it’s not really the party … Of course, we start a little less far than usual, but as every time we arrive on a new circuit, we are far on the clock and we take time to go up…

M.-N.C. : How do you explain these difficulties of adapting to the different circuits ?
S. G. : The problem is that I have to forget all the reflexes that I acquired when arriving on each circuit! The Ducati’s riding style is so specific that my track experience does not serve me well and so we waste time. Afterwards, in China for example, we managed to pick up on the times when I was very far at the beginning. We just have to work tirelessly to get back up.

M.-N.C. : You had the chance to sign to ride with the Ducati in Bridgestone, the reigning world champion package. However, Elias and you seem to be having great difficulties since the start of the season. Can you tell us more ?
S. G. : It’s true that we have the bike and the world champion tires: the differences with the official team are minimal. So signing up for such a package is great! But in fact, we encounter a lot of complications and we must admit that the other factories have worked just as well this winter: the level is much more homogeneous than in 2007. Now, my main concern is above all that I don’t can’t adapt my driving to the Ducati GP8.

M.-N.C. : Concretely, what is the method to go fast with this machine and why you can’t do it ?
S. G. : The problem is that I have a driving style where I enter the curves very quickly, placing great demands on the front of the bike. But last year, it was easy to go fast with the Yamaha: you could quickly enter a curve, slide it and use the traction control to come out. With the Ducati, this is not possible! So to compensate for my loss of time, my first instinct is to enter corners even faster, but I find myself in a bad position to re-accelerate when exiting and the Ducati’s electronic management system is so different that I can’t manage to do it. slide the motorcycle…

M.-N.C. : Which means you have to radically change your riding style and your habits ?
S. G. : We’re working on it, but it takes time because now, we can consider that I am an "old young pilot"! I’ve been riding for a long time and I have my reflexes on the circuits, so it’s not easy to change at all … But hey, Toni and Marco are having the same problems as me: we are also often in the same lap at the start of the weekend, even though in China they both had a superb race. It gives me balm in the heart, because it proves that it is possible and I am convinced that it will end up doing it !

M.-N.C. : Toni Elias recently said that the main problem with the machine was an overloaded front axle and when the gas tank was empty the bike was easier to ride. Do you agree ?

S. G. : No, I don’t have as many difficulties as him at this level. It is true that for Toni, the time gaps between the start and the end of the race are very significant. I think that his concern comes mainly from his riding style: he does not "hold" the bike in a curve, he is very, very swaying and he gets carried away by the bike, especially when the tank is full and therefore inertia higher. Especially since he can play less with his body to control the bike, because he is much smaller than me. While me, I am grouped on the bike and I can move during the different phases of the turns, so the weight does not bother me.

M.-N.C. : The chassis of the Ducati is therefore difficult to understand. But what about its engine? Is it as usable as that of the Yamaha ?
S. G. : Engine wise, it’s the fastest and most powerful bike, that’s for sure! On the Shanghai circuit for example, with its long straights, it was a real massacre! As we had the wind at our back, we were going even faster than with the 990cc! The big difference with the other machines is that we don’t need to restrict 5th and 6th gears – when the bike is 100% loaded – for consumption reasons, because our electronic management is visibly a little better. , e which allows us to go very quickly in the slightest stretch. Now that’s not everything and the Ducati is a priori exploitable only with the driving style of Casey Stoner: he mixes the 250 style and MotoGP in curves and that’s how he manages to go too. quickly.

M.-N.C. : What do you mean by talking about mix of styles ?
S. G. : In fact, Casey enters turns very quickly – like in a 250 -, but he manages to break his speed inside the curve to raise the machine very early and be able to accelerate very hard, as you have to do with machines as powerful as MotoGP. I don’t know exactly how he gets there, but I have to keep working, because this year again he proves that the bike is ultra competitive.

M.-N.C. : What are the differences between the Bridgestones you are using this year and the Dunlops? ?
S. G. : In truth, the Dunlop front tire was really very good: its behavior was ultimately quite similar to that of the Bridge. On the other hand, at the rear, the difference is enormous, especially in terms of endurance, which the Dunlop did not have. Of course, motorcycles are not the same at all, so it’s difficult to compare. With the Bridgestone tires, I immediately had a good feeling: I even managed to set my best times at the end of the race, which proves their competitiveness. Moreover, even with the tire restriction, we are not really penalized because we do not need to use full tires during the sessions. The only concern would come more from the start: the Bridgestones need to prowl for about two laps, depending on the temperature of the track. Besides, I fell this morning with two degrees of angle, without really understanding what was happening to me! I admit that it did not reassure me and to see in addition the times and the classification today, it put me a blow to my morale … I love the Le Mans circuit, I had really want to do well, so obviously I’m disappointed and frustrated to find myself two seconds behind the best times…

M.-N.C. : Did you expect to suffer so much with this machine?
S. G. : Certainly not ! In 2007 Casey literally flew over the championship and Loris Capirossi put in a decent performance. So I was really very happy to sign in the Alice team! It was – and still is – a great opportunity. Now, to be honest, Marco, Toni and I are a little disappointed because we expected a lot more from the package, even if it is competitive as we can see very well with Casey. Adaptation to the motorcycle is really difficult and it is not versatile. There is only one style of riding that allows you to go fast with it and that is what I have to learn. But it’s hard: we use data acquisitions to understand, but when I try to reproduce it on the track, I have the impression of being at a standstill at the entry of turns !

Interview by Alexandre BARDIN

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