Company – Confined with … Clement Villet, director of motorized two-wheelers at Yamaha – Used YAMAHA

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Confined with … Clement Villet, director of motorized two-wheelers at Yamaha

Company - Confined with ... Clement Villet, director of motorized two-wheelers at Yamaha - Used YAMAHA

What are the main players in the motorcycle world doing during the lockdown linked to the Covid-19 pandemic? Clement Villet, director of the motorized two-wheeler division and product development at Yamaha Motor Europe, spoke to Journal moto du Net.

MNC: Where are you confined ?

Clement Villet : I have been at home in the Dutch countryside for a good month, 20 km from Amsterdam where Yamaha’s European headquarters are located. I am in family with my wife, my 9 year old daughter and my 7 year old son. Even if the containment recommended by the Dutch government is less strict than in France, the four of us are very careful and apply the same precautions as those recommended in France.

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MNC: How are your days going? ?

C. V. : My day starts every morning around 6:15 am with 7 km of running around my house and 20 minutes of gym. I have to say it has been a while since I ran 200 km in a month, I feel great! Around 8:30 am, I go upstairs and shut myself up in the small office that I have set up in the attic where I usually start my professional day with a telephone point or a Skype with YMC in Japan (jet lag requires!). I then spend a good part of my time in contact with our teams. With the situation evolving so quickly and unpredictably right now, the days are actually long and busy..

MNC: What do you miss the most? The least ?

C. V. : I must say that I am starting to miss direct contact with the Yamaha teams, even though the current means of communication allow me to stay in very close contact with my team as well as with my colleagues in our various subsidiaries. I am also beginning to miss visiting the various European countries to meet our customers and our dealers, as well as the possibility of riding freely on motorcycles. When I think I had to go next week to the Yamaha Racing Experience in Misano where I have never had the opportunity to ride before and then I was happy to participate in the Sunday Ride Classic with the TZ 250 Reverse which I bought this winter… It’s now time to go! What I don’t miss is the Yamaha Motor Europe company restaurant which inevitably remains at the bottom of the Yamaha canteen ranking that I have tested! Although I am very happy to live in Holland, it must be recognized that gastronomy is not the strong point of this country…

MNC: What are you afraid of ?

C. V. : I’m not afraid, even if I must admit that the three weeks during which my father fought against this damn virus seemed to me very long … As for the economic dimension, I really hope that the situation will not last long. Of course, I have a special thought for all the players in the world of motorcycles, our dealers, our partners, our teams and pilots … I still think that because the practice of our passion will not be called into question by the crisis we are going through. On the contrary, I am convinced that many of us are going to rediscover the joys of motorcycle travel rather than taking a plane to a distant destination..

MNC: A book, a film, a series, a record to recommend ?

C. V. : I just finished the book "The Selfless Enterprise" by Isaac Getz. Because there will surely be a before and after Covid-19, I have found the journey of these companies that have found success thanks to their altruistic and benevolent approaches particularly inspiring.

MNC: Your Favorite Motorcycle Video ?

C. V. : I saw "", the documentary by Pierre-William Glenn from 1975, a few days ago. I wanted to show my son what the world of Grand Prix was like long before the days of MotoGP. This film traces this incredible period when star and private drivers found themselves on the same starting gates, this period when French drivers were particularly numerous and where the TZs built their reputation as a winning machine..

MNC: The first thing you will do at the end of the lockdown ?

C. V. : Without a doubt, block a few days in my calendar to once again enjoy some form of freedom and finally go do the Diagonale offered by our friends from riding a !

Interview by Eric MICHEL

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