MotoGP – Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can’t believe it! – Used SUZUKI

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Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding MotoGP with Rossi? My son can’t believe it !

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

The announcement of Sylvain Guintoli’s participation in the next French Grand Prix on the MotoGP Suzuki GSX-RR is an opportunity for Site to hear from our 2014 Superbike world champion. The international n ° 50 was kind enough to answer our questions … A lot of questions !

It’s official since yesterday: on the official Suzuki of MotoGP from the French Grand Prix until the return of the Spanish. Site was able to speak at length with the French pilot today.

  • MNC of May 4, 2017 :

This time our got permission – and kindness! – to answer our many questions: MotoGP, Endurance, British Superbike and World Superbike, Suzuki GSX-R1000 or GSX-RR … "Guinters" open themselves to MNC readers !

"It’s a great opportunity, I can’t wait!"

Site: Hi Sylvain, how are you ?
Sylvain Guintoli: Well, it’s going well! Of course, I can’t wait to discover Suzuki MotoGP and embark on this adventure. I have a test planned after the Jerez race where I will be able to get to know the bike and the team. Then it will be towards Le Mans for my return to the French Grand Prix … It’s a great opportunity, I’m impatient !

MNC: Your big family is doing well too, they are happy that you participate in BSB rather than WorldSBK ?
S. G .: (laughs) Oh yeah! There is my five year old son who does not believe it … Because of course, we watch the Grand Prix together at home and he cannot believe it, he asks me "Are you going to ride with Rossi?" … I’ll have to record the race to show him.

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: So you are going to replace Alex Rins on the GSX-RR but you were certainly not the only one in the line. It’s your WSBK title, your GP experience or your contract with Suzuki that earned you this favor ?
S. G .: I think it’s a whole. At the beginning of the year, at the end of January, I did a test on the official Superbike with Suzuki in Sepang and it went very well. I was also able to meet the MotoGP team which was racing at the same time. We spent a little time together, the tests were very positive, so that too must have weighed in the balance. It’s also true that it’s the French Grand Prix, so having a Frenchman ride is a good idea for Suzuki. Obviously, the fact that I was a Suzuki rider already under contract made things easier. There have been a lot of matching parameters. Then we’ll see what it will give, I know it’s a hell of a challenge. It may not be at all easy to adapt to MotoGP and the tires again. It’s also good that I can ride in Jerez before the French Grand Prix, because it’s a circuit that I know very well, on which I already have some benchmarks. The goal is to do my best, to please myself of course, and then to give my all to try to achieve cool results. !

"This is also how we progress"

MNC: Davide Brivio wants to continue developing the GSX-RR with you to offer Alex Rins a more efficient motorcycle. But it’s not easy to develop a motorcycle for someone else! Do you know if you have the same build, the same riding style ?
S. G .: Well, of course, each pilot has their own requests and preferences. What is certain is that for a manufacturer it can be interesting to run different pilots on the same machine because it can give them a different point of view, as it could have been the case with Iannone who came from a another brand (he drove the stormy Ducati Desmosedici last year, editor’s note). It allows you to study the bike from new angles or to come up with different ideas. This is also how we progress: by exchanging and sharing experiences.

MNC: In the test in Jerez on Tuesday, what do you expect from the bike and the tires, compared to what you use in BSB ?
S. G .: Well, Superbike bikes are already going fast. But MotoGP have very, very powerful engines, especially on a circuit like Jerez (although everywhere with these machines). I expect to drive an already efficient machine, it has already brought back big results last year and this year. It is an already well-developed motorcycle with an efficient electronic system. In terms of tires, it’s true that it’s been a long time since I’ve driven Michelin cars. We’ll have to adapt … The interest of driving in Jerez, since I know the track well, is to be able to concentrate on the feeling with the bike and the sensations with the tires. But it will be a great pleasure for me: the opportunity to drive this kind of machine, one of the best in the world, is great for me. !

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: The BSB championship marks a big break until mid-June, that’s good! But you have tests scheduled with your "GSX-R" and your English team. Everything will settle down ?
S. G .: Yes for the moment everything is good, there is no competition of dates or calendars. We do have a break in the Superbike championship, but the team has a big road racing program with Michael Dunlop.

"It’s our job to drive!"

MNC: It’s the North West 200 next week !
S. G .: Exact. And the Tourist Trophy in early June. But I don’t have a race on my side and this availability was also a plus.

MNC: It’s an advantage, because otherwise you would have had to fight two frontal fights. Not too hard for a driver to manage his championship and do freelance work alongside ?
S. G .: No, no, it’s not complicated. It’s our job to drive (laughs) !

MNC: You must be right. Besides, some French speed pilots take part in endurance events, like Cluzel this year at the 24H Motos, Baz not very long ago, and you too in 2010 in Doha with the SERT…
S. G .: Yes you see ! In 2010, it was at the end of the Superbike season, I was with Suzuki then. I had attended and it was a really great experience. We won the race and the title for Suzuki and for the SERT. This kind of challenge is part of our job, but above all they are very motivating events, as will be the French GP riding the MotoGP Suzuki. For me, it’s kind of a dream. It’s been a long time since I shot at Le Mans but I have good memories. This is happiness !

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: Regarding endurance, you are still in talks with Yoshimura to race at Suzuka this summer. ?
S. G .: I obviously have strong links with Suzuki and Suzuka is one of the very important events for the company. I have never participated in this event, but as they said, I had a very good experience in an 8 hour race. We will see, it must be decided in the coming weeks…

"The race with the SERT was a great experience"

MNC: As you are both a very fast and super reliable rider, you must have some suggestions for riding in EWC, right? The adventure would tempt you ?
S. G .: Once again, racing with the SERT was a superb experience in every way. We had a great time together and the result was amazing. It’s funny because Qatar for me is not just 2014 (and its, Editor’s note). There was also 2010, when we absolutely had to win the race to secure the SERT title, there was also a lot of competition … It’s the race, with two pilots with Vincent (Philippe, Editor’s note), which does not was not easy. Suddenly that leaves strong and very good memories, and it would also interest me to see what it is possible to do … Because I think the Suzuki will be a very good machine for this discipline. The old one was already.

MNC: More concretely, the first three BSB tests have passed. Each time, you encountered problems in the first round. We will come back to the second rounds but first of all, your two technical problems and your fall are they due to the youth and the late arrival of the Gex ?
S. G .: Of course, we have much less experience with our machine than our competitors. But our job is precisely to develop the machine, to improve its performance. But it’s never easy to do that! It is certain that with a new motorcycle, expectations are high. We are in an "iPad generation": we want an app and we get it instantly! When you order something from Amazon, lean on it and you get it the next day (laughs). It doesn’t happen like that in competition, there is a lot of work behind the successes. For the moment, we are building the foundations. We had some concerns, but that’s normal. Having said that, we are lucky to have a very good base bike. It’s clear and clean, I realized as soon as I got on the bike.

  • 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R Review :

We also see it in the tests and comparisons, in the Stock category (Sylvain’s teammate, Richard Cooper, is at the top of the Superstock 1000 ranking in BSB, Editor’s note). Originally, it is a motorcycle that is fast. In Superbike configuration, we already have a very, very powerful bike … But we have to learn how to use it properly. And at this level of competition, the differences are minimal. We are looking for small gains, everywhere, and once everything is together, it must do.

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: In the second run, you finished 7th at Donington, 10th at Brands Hatch and 11th at Oulton Park. Your goals are met or you thought you were doing better ?
S. G .: There are no real objectives in terms of places because we are in a work pattern that aims to improve the "package". Our mid-term goal is to win. So we are all working to get there. But as I say, it is not easy because the competition is very strong. The English championship has very good drivers, very good teams, machines at the end of their development…

MNC: Not to mention the crazy circuits !
S. G .: Yes, the circuits are quite interesting (laughs) !

MNC: You said you didn’t need more power, but mastery. Since the MoTec electronics do not have Traction Control, do you have to work more on the character of the motor? ?
S. G .: So the character of the original engine is already very, very good. Thanks to the DVT system, the power is important but the torque is very linear, very present from low revs. The prepared motor needs to be checked because it remains linear but it is even more powerful.

"A rough diamond that you have to learn to cut"

MNC: You will also have to work on your right hand! It’s very different to pilot a WSBK machine and a BSB ?
S. G .: The system in British Superbike is very different from the one I knew in World Superbike, or from those on endurance bikes which are much more advanced. This is one of the parameters to take into account! We have to adapt better. In fact, we have a rough diamond that we must learn to cut properly.

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: Cycle part, it seems that you are struggling when entering the curve. But confidence in your front axle is crucial on a motorcycle. You have ways to improve this point ?
S. G .: In fact it has varied. We encountered some difficulties, but in fact it was more due to the electronics. In the last race for example, we were really very efficient. We must learn to use the motorcycle. We can make it very efficient in certain driving phases such as braking or entering a curve, but then be penalized in other parts. We must necessarily make compromises and it takes time to settle.

MNC: Does the Suzuki factory support you in your development? ?
S. G .: Absolutely. At Oulton Park, we had one of the MotoGP electronics managers with us and that helped us. There is real support from the factory, we all work together to improve results.

"These pilots there … They are different!"

MNC: Have you heard from Michael Dunlop who will try to make the Gex shine at the next TT? Is his motorbike ready ?
S. G .: That’s yet another lens … They need more features on the road. We’ll see what happens, but I think the bike has great qualities for this kind of event. Its engine in particular is really full, which should be an advantage. There will already be some very good riders lined up for the North West, it will be a good test before the Isle of Man. But hey, these pilots there … They are different (laughs). They are brave guys !

  • MNC of March 6, 2017 :

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: Let’s talk a bit about your future, have you set goals for the races to come? You are aiming for a place in the general classification ?
S. G .: Here I am focused on MotoGP. For the rest of the season, we will do our best this year. And for the future we will see, nothing is decided.

MNC: Do you know if in the event of good results in BSB, Suzuki has planned to align its GSX-R1000 in WSBK? Maybe in the company of old friends like Alstare? Have you heard from Francis Batta ?
S. G .: Yes, I hear from him regularly. We have always had a very good relationship with Francis. He retired from Superbike, but we still keep in touch because we worked together and we also became friends. But regarding the World Cup, there is nothing signed for the moment.

"Of course a little more competition would do good"

MNC: Did you follow the start of the World Superbike season? ?
S. G .: Of course … (Light sigh) It’s still a big start to the season for "Johnny" (In eight races, Jonathan Rea has won seven victories and a 2nd place, editor’s note). It announces a "remake" of last season and the previous one.

  • MNC special file :

MNC: What do you think of Rea and Kawasaki’s hegemony? ?
S. G .: They have been dominant since 2015. Largely, let’s say. Of course, a little more competition would do the championship good. But this is the strong team of the moment, they are clearly very difficult to beat. But there is no Suzuki either (laughs) !

MotoGP - Interview Sylvain Guintoli: Riding in MotoGP with Rossi? My son can't believe it! - Used SUZUKI

MNC: You think the organization should review the regulations, in order to level the level a bit as was done in the past between 4-cylinder and twin-cylinder ?
S. G .: Ah, it’s not easy. This is a difficult question, because it is not easy to inflict "penalties", bridles or weights … The promoter and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) are the only judges. For the public, it’s always better when it brawls in front.

"Not too much of a fan of the redistribution of places on the starting grid"

MNC: They tried something this year … What is your opinion on the redistribution of places on the starting grid for the second rounds? ?
S. G .: Yes, yes, yes … I’m not too much of a fan, for two main reasons. The first is that I don’t find it very "sport" and the second is linked to the fairly pre-established order in Superbike at the moment, that is to say the Kawa and the Ducat ‘. By relegating them to third place for the second race, it increases the risk of collisions. Well, we’re keeping our fingers crossed because so far there haven’t been any problems. But for a Rea, Davies or Sykes, the object of the game is to try to get past as fast as possible to widen the gap. This is exactly what Rea did in the second run at Assen, as Davies took longer to come back. Without these rules, they could both have gone ahead and fought for victory. So no, I’m not too much of a fan.

  • MNC of May 2, 2017 :

MNC: It is noted. Thank you Sylvain for answering all our questions. Good Jerez Grand Prix in front of the TV with the son … and excellent tests in Jerez on Tuesday! See you soon.
S. G .: Great, thank you. See you soon !

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE

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