WSBK – Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! – Used YAMAHA

Posted on by admin

Interview Lucas Mahias: it’s the chance of my life !

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

Site took advantage of the presentation of the 2017 sports program of the Blues – of Yamaha … – to speak with Lucas Mahias. After his funny 2016 season, the phenomenal French driver is aiming for the world title in Supersport riding the official R6. Interview.

Site: Superstock 1000, World Superbike, Endurance … Your program was a bit disjointed and busy in 2016, but in the end it was a great season for you ?!
Lucas Mahias: Yes, the year had started very badly since I was supposed to ride in World Supersport, but the team stopped so we had to bounce back. I started on endurance and then a lot of circumstances I was called to the right, to the left. I think people have started to know that I’m quick to get on with any bike. In my opinion, I was a good joker for a lot of teams, knowing that there are a lot of drivers who got injured last year … So I did (Sylvain Barrier, Editor’s note), of, the (of Florian Marino)…

MNC: You even did a Suzuki shot at the start of the season…
L. M.: Yes in . Whatever the bike I got decent results so yes 2016 was a good year.

MNC: In which discipline did you enjoy yourself the most last year ?
L. M.: Hey frankly, it’s complicated to say. It was good because it was brand new, something a bit dreamy. But the Superstock was also good because I was competitive, I had a good bike and I was going fast. And the, it’s always something that I liked, it was cool too, I had a good bike … I enjoyed everything, I love the bike above all.

MNC: You are like Site, as long as there is a handlebar, two wheels and a motor…
L. M.: Yes that’s it…

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

MNC: As you did a lot of endurance last year and you rode very well, you are the first endurance world champion driver.
L. M.: Yes, thanks to the points accumulated at R2CL then at GMT94, I am the only one .

MNC: Would you have liked to defend your title in 2017 ?
L. M.: No, honestly no. This year is the chance of my life: I have always dreamed of participating in the Mondial Supersport, now I am there. I think I will have the opportunity to come back to endurance, later.

MNC: You also excelled in the French Supersport Championship in 2014. The 600 cc is your favorite category ?
L. M.: For now yes. But hey, in 2014 I considered that this was the only category that really suited me. But last year I proved, to others as well as to myself, that I was also fast on a 1000 cc: I do three races in STK1000, three podiums including two wins and a second place (less than a second from the winner, Editor’s note!), I finished 4th in the championship … I demonstrated my speed and I had a lot of fun with this bike there.

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

MNC: You will finally play in 2017 your first full season in WSSP. It’s your Grolando-French dual nationality that scared the team managers ?
L. M.: Look, I don’t know, I can’t tell you. Today I’m only French (laughs). No, but I’m not denigrating this past, that’s what allowed me to take my place today. All this is thanks to (the infamous rolling knight of Groland, Editor’s note), without his meeting I would surely be a motorcycle mechanic rather than an official Yamaha rider. It was a dream for me, and I reached it, with these stories … It was a page of my life, that I turned to evolve and progress. I think I managed these two phases intelligently. The first allowed me to make myself known, to meet people and to make myself appreciated by the public too I think. Which always goes with my personality because I like being close to people. In Groland, you should know that there are no people higher than the others, we are all at the bottom of the ladder in fact! Then, when it came to integrating real teams, I was able to change. The proof today with Yamaha who trusts me for this .

  • MNC special file :

MNC: Yamaha gives you its trust by giving you a factory R6 (the other goes to the promising Italian Caricasulo). We imagine that this trust is reciprocal. Compared to your R6 in the French championship, have you noticed any big changes on the new model, or have you found "your" motorcycle? ?
L. M.: The racing bike is still very different. I think that the people who will use the standard version for track days will find a rather similar character … Although, the R6 of the trade has new electronic paraphernalia which one does not take advantage of on the race version! I haven’t really tried the original bike. On our official machine anyway, every little detail has a big influence, but many parameters have been changed: the fork, the fuel tank, ergonomics, etc. There are a lot of little things that changed in the end.

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

MNC: You come back from testing in Jerez, there is only one series of tests left in Australia before the first race. You are all set ?
L. M.: Originally we were supposed to have four days of testing, two in Jerez and two in Portimao. But we had a meeting with the team and Yamaha and we decided to cancel the tests in Portugal because the bike had arrived very late, there were a lot of parts … We prefer to focus on Phillip Island, to keep perfectly ready to do two good days of testing rather than arriving a little borderline in Australia. This will also be my philosophy this year: not to ignite, to go there little by little ("step by step", as Jonathan Rea hammers since his arrival at Kawasaki, Editor’s note!). We will not come to Phillip Island with the idea of ​​crushing everything and absolutely winning the race. We will do the accounts at the end of the year.

MNC: As you know, during its last three official World Supersport outings, the R6 has obtained…
L. M.: Yeah i know i know…

MNC: So I don’t give you the dates and the pilots (, and, Editor’s note)? This kind of statistics puts pressure or it is rather reassuring on the contrary ?
L. M.: (Smile) No, honestly there is no pressure. If I start to put the pressure on myself for these things … On paper we have everything to win. Now a season, it does not go like that: you can bring together the best rider, the best bike, the best tires, you have to take into account millions of parameters like the other riders, the conditions, the circuits … You can get hit very well in the first race, break your leg and you’re done. So indeed it’s beautiful, the Yamaha has won at each official release and I hope to be part of this lineage, but I am not putting unnecessary pressure on myself. As Éric de Seynes (boss of Yamaha Motor Europe, Editor’s note) says: we are not here to plaster everything but to build something, move forward together, keep this family spirit and prove that the bike is good.

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

MNC: Between Kenan Sofuoglu who stays on his official Kawasaki, Jules Cluzel who returns on the Honda PTR, PJ Jacobsen who tries the MV Agusta track and you on the Yamaha, there are going to be a lot of people in Supersport, a category that can be summed up often in duels in recent seasons. The 2017 season promises to be more disputed !
L. M.: Yes, each year on paper we are told heavy. We know what pilots are worth, but motorcycles not yet. Jacobsen is very fast for example, but what will it give to the MV, has it improved? Jules was very fast on MV, will this always be the case on the Honda which is a bit aging? Kenan is very fast all the time, but he hinted that this will be his last season, that he has achieved his goals … will he always be so motivated? In addition, he was injured at the beginning of the year. There are lots of unknowns…

MNC: In Endurance as in Superstock, you form a wonderful duo with the R1. Do you plan to do the same with the new R6 ?
L. M.: Yes I hope, of course. It’s my goal…

MNC: They look the same aesthetically, but the little one does not have a Crossplane, she is much less powerful, more agile…
L. M.: They actually have nothing to do with it. When I get on a motorbike, it is not to assess its beauty but to win races regardless of its behavior. We will see what it will give, but I think and I hope to do a little the same thing.

WSBK - Interview Lucas Mahias: this is the chance of my life! - Used YAMAHA

MNC: It’s still far too early to think about it seriously, but the WSBK on an official R1, that would tempt you, no ?
L. M.: Yes of course. I wouldn’t have said that two years ago because I was really focused on the 600 and I saw myself a bit like Kenan, doing my whole career in Supersport because I loved it. But since last year, my opinion has changed anyway, I saw that I could be fast on the 1000, I started to understand its behavior and I liked it. Today, the 1000 pleases me as much as the 600 and I hope that the passage in Supersport in the official team will serve as a springboard for the Superbike. It depends a lot on me, I will have to do good results. If I do shit, I would never have a motorcycle in a Superbike because there are very few motorcycles. But I believe in the philosophy of Yamaha! I’ve been with them for a long time. I had to make a small gap at Kawasaki because there was no room, but I’m happy to be back, I consider myself a pure Yamaha product. I showed them that I was fast on a 1000, it is noted in the papers, it seems to me that I assured them the first victory of the R1 on the dry in STK1000, in only three races…

MNC: It’s a hell of a line in your CV !
L. M.: Yes, I think it’s not bad! All this without knowing the circuits, or anything … My freelance on the R1 last year marked Yamaha managers. I don’t think they had any doubts about my riding, but maybe more about my professionalism. I proved to them that I could do things right. Now there’s a lot of work to do, but I’m on it.

MNC: We will follow that closely! We wish you the best for the coming season.
L. M.: Thank you !

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *